Hello Stranger
by k.suga
Summary: Two strangers who don't see eye to eye can't help being in each other's lives. When love comes into play, maybe they are not so different after all. AU TysonxMax
1. Killing the Barista

_Well well, look at that! K. suga got her lazy butt in gear and pooped out this story! Mind you, it is not completed yet. I thought that since I have been suffering a serious case of writer's block that actually having the beginning up would motivate me enough to overcome it (though i can't help feeling that this is a bad idea...)_

_Also, I took a different approach to this story. Because of the certain plot I decided on, I will not be mentioning any names. I rather like this idea, but if you think it's annoying I may (not) consider changing it... I probably won't though, because the story doesn't work for me with names of the main two. So heads up._

_I am giving myself one week (starting tomorrow) to have chapter 2 complete and hopefully chapter 3 not far behind, because I love you guys^^_

_As always, I hope you enjoy this installment and reviews (especially for this off-the-wall idea) would be very much appreciated!_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. Takao Aoki does. Nor do I own the actual places I depict.**_

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

He had seen her several times before, but they rarely talked.

Sometimes she would come to the café alone, and sometimes with friends. Her work was close by, so she often came during her breaks. On one particular day, when the sky was cloudy and there were no customers, they talked. She sat near the counter as he cleaned the machines. They talked about anything, he doesn't remember exactly what. But he remembers thinking "she's nice." He wished he had remembered the first time she had come to the café.

It continued like this for a few months. She would stop by during her breaks or in her spare time. He would remember which drinks she liked on different days. If it was cold she would like a hot chocolate with milk pudding, and If it was cloudy she liked flavored coffees, etc. On a special day, when the sky was crying lightly, he asked her name.

"Hiromi."

It didn't take long. He was comfortable around her. They joked a lot, almost the way that friends do. He would tease her, and she would pretend to be offended. Then he would apologize and she would say that she was only kidding. Once he even told her she would get fat if she kept drinking hot chocolate with pudding. She told him it was because she was trying to compete with him. He almost couldn't stop laughing. It was bound to happen.

Of course he would start to fall for her.

But today, something was different. She was going somewhere. Her hair was done nicely and she is wearing more make-up than usual. She said she was only stopping by, on her way to a show, or maybe it was dinner. He can't remember. He asked her why she bothered to look so nice.

"I met someone."

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

"So, do you really like him?"

Her blonde friend in the driver's seat laughs. This was probably the 10th time she has asked him that today. Nevertheless, he turns amused blue eyes to her and smiles.

"Hiromi, for the 10th time, yes! Just get him to quit smoking."

He was driving her to her apartment. Hiromi had invited him to a party that her friend was having. She wanted him to meet the new guy that she had fallen for. The blonde insisted that she could not date anyone without his approval. Of course, she has done the same for him. She would never let him date a guy that she did not think met his standards. This is the kind of thing you do for your gay friends.

"I've told him already. He said he'll try for me."

"Awwwwwww." Mock puppy eyes and a sarcastic hand over his heart earns the blonde a punch to the arm.

Before long they reach Hiromi's apartment building. It was more upscale than his own, but her family was more well-off than his. They say their goodbyes before Hiromi opens the door and steps out. Maybe he'll go for a late night snack or something. Then he remembers the café that he once went to with Hiromi. He quickly lowers the passenger window.

"Hiromi!"

She stops and turns back to the car. Then, thinking she may have forgotten something, steps closer to peek in through the open window. "Yeah?"

"Where was that café you took me to before?"

"Oh, right by Kawabata's souvenir shop. It's called Tiffany Café."

As Hiromi leaves the car again, she turns quickly just before the blonde closes the window. "Be sure to say 'hi' to the guy with blue hair if he's working. He's really nice."

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The bell above the door rings as he steps into the shop.

It's a little bit different than he remembers. Then again, he has only been here one other time. It's small. There are only three little tables with two chairs each. The walls are adorned with shelves of different teacups and coffee mugs. There are bags upon bags of all kinds of different coffee. A hanging plant is in the corner with it's leaves draping low enough to touch. The counter is perfectly clean and organized. There is a chalkboard behind it serving as a handwritten menu.

"Welcome." There is also a blue-haired guy working the machines.

"Hello."

As he approaches the counter, he looks over the menu carefully. He rarely gets to drink anything that actually tastes decent. His current boyfriend, Michael, is super athletic and obsessed with health. Ever since they started dating, Michael has forbidden him from drinking anything carbonated, sweeten, alcoholic, caffeinated, processed, enhanced, or contains more than 200kcal. Basically, everything on this menu. But he won't know if he cheats this one time. He does care about his boyfriend and he wants to make him happy, but will one drink really kill him?

"What's in the Strawberry Swirl?"

"Strawberries, bananas, and pomegranate juice."

Tempting, but strawberries and bananas are a little too boring. He doesn't want to sneak in a drink tasting like something he can get anywhere. He spots another interesting item on the menu, but he has to wait for the blender to stop before he can ask about it. What is the employee making anyway? There is no one else here. The blender stops after a moment.

"What about the Peanut Butter-Banana?"

"Just peanut butter and banana."

"Oh."

He wasn't too sure how he felt about drinking peanut butter. Maybe some other time. The employee continues to make whatever he is making. A familiar smell has filled the air around the counter, but it's not familiar enough for the blonde to identify. For some reason, however, it makes him think of his father's house outside of Tokyo. While the employee heads for the sink, he spots another item on the menu.

"Is the lemon smoothie any good?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

Wide, blue eyes turn to the blue-haired employee. Did he just…? What kind of sales etiquette is this? The blunette finally spares a backwards glance over his shoulder before turning back to his current task. Just when the blonde is about to leave and probably never come back, the blue-haired employee turns and places a small paper cup in front of him. Blue eyes examine the cup before looking back up at the blunette suspiciously.

"Try it."

While deciding whether to take the offered sample, the blonde studies the man standing on the other side of the counter. Dark blue hair. Not vibrant, but light enough to notice. It's long enough to tie into a short ponytail at the back of his head, as he is currently displaying. Dark eyes sit under thick eyebrows and are looking back at the blonde. One of these eyebrows is currently raised in a questioning manner. He's wearing a short sleeved, black t-shirt with a dark brown apron over it. No nametag. The short sleeves reveal toned arms and a slight tan. Obviously, he works out.

The blonde looks back at the paper cup on the counter. There is an off-white colored liquid inside and it's steaming. The same familiar smell is coming from the cup. Taking one last glance at the rude employee, the blonde takes the small cup and brings it to his lips. It's warm, thick, and very sweet.

"It's good. What is it?"

"Sweet potato latte." That's what the familiar smell was. His father used to always roast sweet potatoes in the backyard. He would sit with his father and look at the stars as they talked. A small smile finds it's way to his lips at the nostalgic taste.

Before the blonde can order, the blunette turns from the counter and pours the rest of the batch he has prepared into a paper coffee cup. He brings it to the counter and covers it with a plastic lid. As he slides it over to the blonde, he punches into the cash register.

"That will be ¥275."

"Do you order for everybody?"

"Only the people who can't order for themselves."

The blonde sends a glare to, quite possibly, the rudest sales person he has ever met. Nevertheless, he likes the latte and will pay for it. While he searches through his cluttered bag for his coin purse, it is the blunette's turn to observe the person standing in front of him. Fashionable clothes cover a small frame. His hair is a vibrant blonde, but it is definitely natural. Although he has light blue eyes and a small amount of freckles, his mannerisms and round, almond shaped eyes are purely Japanese. His skin is flawless and his posture matches his spoiled exterior. He has to be gay.

"Here." The blonde pulls out three 100 yen coins from his pink coin purse. Definitely gay. The blunette gives him the appropriate change and turns to clean the machines he had just used. As the blonde takes the cup he quickly sticks his tongue out at the blunette's turned back. Satisfied, he turns from the counter and heads for the door. The chime of the bell over the door reaches the ears of the man behind the counter. He pauses in cleaning the machine as he recalls the blonde's appearance.

Why does he seem familiar?

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

Another load of laundry in the washer.

The blonde picks up the freshly washed load and heads to the balcony of his flat. He really did pick a good day to finish his laundry. The sun is shining bright and he basks in the fact that his clothes will be dry in no time. Surely the clothes that are already on the line are ready to be brought in. Just as he is about to open the glass door to the balcony, his cell phone rings. Okay, his clothes will be dry in a few minutes then.

He drops the basket of wet clothes by his feet before grabbing his phone. "Hello?"

"Thank God you answered! I need your help!"

"Hiromi? What's wrong?"

He can hear her pull the phone away and speak to an unknown person quickly. Hiromi works at a highly recommended dental office. Since it is Saturday, they are most likely packed with appointments. And poor Hiromi is the receptionist. A heavy sigh close to the phone tells the blonde that she is back on the line.

"I need you to do me a huge favor."

"Right now?"

"Get me a coffee. Iced. I will love you forever."

The blonde turns disappointed eyes to the load of wet clothes in the basket. He was so looking forward to having all of his laundry finished early. Then he could have the rest of the day to do whatever. His blue eyes soon fall on the clothes he is now wearing. Most of his clothes are either in the wash or wet. His current attire, a hoodie and basketball shorts, is not what he wants to be seen out in. The sound of a baby starting to cry comes through from Hiromi's end and the blonde makes his decision.

"On my way."

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The bell above the door chimes as the blonde steps into the café. It's been almost a month since his last visit. After the incident that occurred here last time, he swore he would never come back again. However, this is the closest café to Hiromi's office, and he knows how much she likes the drinks here. He'll make this quick.

"Welcome."

Oh the irony. The blunette says 'welcome' but all the blonde wants to do is turn around and walk back out the door. He's doing this for Hiromi. Just one iced coffee and he can leave. Taking a deep breath, he steps up to the counter.

"Iced coffee… please."

The blunette, who has had his back turned for a while, glances over his shoulder. He raises a solitary brow before turning completely. He leans his forearms on the counter and gives the blonde a once over.

"Now, you don't look like the type who drinks plain coffee. Unless your current attire has something to do with it."

Yup, he should have never come here. "Look, I didn't come here to be insulted."

"It's not for you is it?"

"What?"

The blunette simply shakes his head and goes back to the iced coffee machine. In a huff, the blonde heads to a nearby table and takes a seat. The nerve of this guy! He decides that he is never coming back here again. Even if he were dying and the remedy to save his life was in this very café, he would still not come here. This is the second time that he has been insulted at this café. Nope, he is going to find a nicer café and convince Hiromi that-

The bell above the door chimes abruptly. The blonde turns to see a little girl, probably 8 years old, run up to the counter. She has a small coin purse hanging off of her shoulder. It jingles as she stops in front of the register.

"A strawberry bubble drink please!"

The blunette turns quickly. As he walks up to the little girl, she grabs her coin purse and dumps its contents onto the counter. The blunette rushes to catch some of the coins before they roll off of the counter. The blonde has to giggle at his silly appearance. Once all of the coins are taken under control, he looks back at the little girl…

And he smiles.

"Michiko, you have exact change again. Do you save up your allowance every week to have just enough for a drink?"

The blonde can't explain it, but the blunette's smile struck a chord in him. The contrast of his white teeth to his tan skin, and the way his eyes seemed to smile at the same time... It took the very breath out of him. It was… gorgeous.

Blue eyes widen in realization. There was no way that obnoxious guy's smile was 'gorgeous.' Instantly, the blonde racks his brain for any possible causes for having such a thought. Well, there was the fact that he was smiling at a little girl. The blonde always had a soft spot for kids. Then there was the fact that the blunette had really nice teeth. The blonde must have subconsciously associated his nice teeth with the rest of his features. And then there was the lighting…

Yeah, it had to have been the lighting.

"Hey, you!"

The blonde jumps slightly at the shout in his direction. Realizing that it's the rude employee who has called his attention, he quickly composes himself. The little girl is gone now, probably received her drink a while ago. Now, the blunette is waiting on his only other customer. Impatiently, he shakes the cup of iced coffee to hopefully hurry the blonde along.

"Your coffee is ready."

The blonde quickly stands and heads for the counter only slightly embarrassed. He reaches into his bag and pulls out his pink coin purse. He doesn't see the way the blunette's eyes stare at the girlie pouch. "How much?"

"You're really a homo, aren't you?"

Angry blue eyes glare at the blunette in utter disbelief. What is wrong with this guy? He is definitely _never _coming back here again. The blonde hastily pulls out ¥300 and slams it onto the counter.

"That's enough right?" Without waiting for an answer, the blonde moves to grab the coffee from the blunette's hand. However, the blunette moves it just out of his reach.

"No need to get pissed. I'm just being observant. The only kind of guy who would seriously carry around a pink coin purse has to be gay."

"So what if I am?"

The blonde leans over the counter quickly and snatches the drink before it can be pulled away again. Satisfied, he turns abruptly and heads for the entrance. The bell above the door rings angrily at his departure.

Brushing off the encounter, the blunette collects the coins on the counter. Such a strange guy. If he is gay then why did he get so riled up at being called that? He's obviously not a closet homo. He's way too flamboyant. At least he wasn't mad enough to not pay. At that thought, the blunette pauses in counting the coins.

The blonde was ¥150 over.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

"The guy is a complete jerk!"

Hiromi only laughs as her blonde friend continues to rant. She wanted to come eat at Ryugin on her day off. The restaurant is a bit pricey, but Hiromi wanted to treat the blonde. He couldn't refuse a free meal now, could he? Unfortunately, it has only been a day since the last incident at Tiffany Coffee. Now the blonde was sure he will never go back to that place, no matter how much he liked their sweet potato latte.

"He really isn't that bad. He's just… outspoken."

Unconvinced blue eyes fall onto the brunette before looking back at his meal. He continues to stab random pieces of food in anger. He has been so upset over his last encounter with that guy, he doesn't even know if what he's been eating tastes any good! Even when that blunette is nowhere in sight, he manages to ruin the blonde's mood.

"It _is_ possible to be outspoken without being rude."

"Okay, so he doesn't hold back. But he really is a nice guy. I even started to have feelings for him before."

He pauses in taking another bite of his food. What did she just say? He looks up to take a look at her face and, sure enough, she is not joking. "Did you hit your head?"

"What? He is really nice! I just… like Daisuke a bit more."

Well, at least Hiromi hadn't completely lost her mind. Who would ever go out with such a rude and obnoxious jerk. That's probably why all he does is stand around in a café and make up drinks. Why is he thinking about him so much anyway?

"Come to think of it, you haven't been out with Michael in a while, haven't you?"

That must be it. Michael has been busy with his baseball career recently. He hasn't had much time to go out with the blonde. He was either too tired or had another sudden "re-scheduling." It was starting to get annoying. Maybe that's why he has started to fill his thoughts with the only other attractive male he has seen recently.

… Not that the blunette was attractive…

"Maybe I should call him up and plan something."

Hiromi nods approvingly before turning back to her own meal. The conversation steers to other topics. However, the blonde can not stop thinking about his boyfriend. Along with being a health nut, the guy is also very overprotective. Not being able to go out with Michael meant that the blonde could rarely do things on his own. Aside from going to the store, work, and out to eat with his friends he hasn't been able to do much. Michael would disapprove if he did something without his consent.

Hopefully he doesn't have a reason to cancel this time.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

He is so late.

This is the first date that the blonde has been on in goodness knows how long. He took a long shower and made sure he was extra clean. He used his most expensive moisturizer and matching cologne. He is wearing his best clothes. His hair is flawless. He has even applied a bit of concealer. He took the extra time to make sure everything was perfect. He is now nearly fifteen minutes late to meet up with Michael. Perfect.

He is driving as fast as the law will allow him to. He can see the Chanel Ginza Building where they will be eating. Thank goodness they have valet parking. He can't afford to be any later then he already is. Michael is not a patient person. He is finally assisted by a valet parker. He shuts off the car quickly and grabs his bag. Just when he does, however, his phone chimes signaling a text message. As he opens his phone to read the message, the valet parker opens his door.

"Good evening, sir."

The blonde doesn't answer. He is too busy looking over the message he has just received. Noticing the line of cars starting to form, the valet parker gently taps the blonde on the shoulder. "Sir, is there a problem."

Snapping out of his daze, the blonde looks back up at the other man. "Uh, no. There's been a change of plans. I'll just be going then."

The valet parker nods and closes his door politely. As the vehicle pulls away, tears form in the blonde's eyes as he re-reads the message over in his head. He turns down a small street to head back home. It is late now so there are not many people out. Just like them, the blonde will be sitting at home doing nothing for the rest of the evening. He should have known this would happen. He should have known Michael wouldn't keep their plans. He should have never have made the effort of looking nice and coming here on time.

He should have been watching the road.

He sees a blurry head of blue hair before he thinks to slam on the brakes. It's too late. There is a loud thump before he sees the body roll over twice and come to a stop. For a moment he doesn't do anything. He can't believe what has just happened. When he finally registers the situation he quickly unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car. Luckily there are no people around so there won't be a big commotion.

"You!" He kneels beside the body and shakes it slightly. "Hey you! Are you okay?"

There is a loud grunt before the body pushes himself up onto his forearms. He shakes his head to clear his probably scrambled brain. His eyes drift up to look at the headlights of the car that has just mowed him down. Then he sees the blonde.

"You."

The blonde is speechless. Here he is, having just plowed someone with his car. That someone turns out to be the jerk that has insulted him on two different occasions. As much as he can't stand the guy, surely running him over is considered overkill for a couple of rude words. It is then that a trail of red begins to trickle down the blunette's forehead.

"You're bleeding!"

Just noticing the warmth over his eyebrow, the blunette brings a hand up to touch it. Sure enough, the thick, red liquid covers his fingers. He soon becomes aware of a dull pain in his left side. He hisses slightly as he pushes himself into a sitting position. He shakes his head again before turning accusing eyes toward the blonde. However, he is surprised to find a handkerchief being shoved at him.

"Here."

Confused, and slightly aggravated, the blunette takes the handkerchief. Realizing what it's for, he lightly presses it against his injured head flinching slightly. He then turns back to the blonde to find that he is no longer kneeling where he was. The sound of a car door opening catches his attention.

"Hey!" The blonde jumps at the shout and looks back at his victim. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm… going home. You seem fine so… good luck." The blonde raises his hand in an awkward wave before sliding back into the driver's seat. Once he closes the door, he shuts his eyes tightly in a desperate attempt to make all of this disappear. When he opens his eyes the blunette that was just lying in the road… is gone. Did that really work? Did he really imagine all of this?

The passenger door being opened answers his question. He turns to see the blunette nonchalantly sliding into the car and closing the door behind him. As he buckles his seatbelt, he turns to the blonde and gives him a very proud smirk. The blonde is speechless for the second time that night. "What… what are you…?"

"Oh? Isn't it obvious?" The blunette lifts the handkerchief to his head once again. "This is all your fault. If you had paid attention, this would have never happened. Now you have to take responsibility."

The blonde didn't know what to do. Here was the same rude blunette, that he had just hit with his car, now sitting in his passenger seat and waiting for the blonde to… to do something. Paranoia began to set in and the blonde's mind became rattled with how this could all go wrong. This guy could be a scam artist, or a criminal. A member of the yakuza even.

"What are you? Some… some kind of gangster?"

"What?"

"You want money, is that it?" Panicking, the blonde grabs his bag and reaches into one of the inner pockets. Grabbing a bundle of cash, he hurls it into the blunette's face.

"Ow! What are you doing?"

Without answering, the blonde opens his door and bolts from the car. The blunette curses quietly and also exits the car, money in hand. He chases after the blonde quickly. Luckily, he is as dainty as he looks and does not run very fast. Near the end of the road, the blunette catches the blonde by his arm and pulls him to a stop. Unfortunately, the blonde still has fight in him and delivers a few good smacks.

"Let me go you… you yakuza!"

"Look, just help me out really quick and I'll be out of your hair!" The blonde finally stops fighting and meets the blunette's eyes. "I mean… you did hit me with a car…"

The blunette's vision suddenly becomes blurry and he slumps slightly. The blonde notices that there is still fresh blood dripping from his forehead. He grabs the blunette's forearm in an attempt to help steady the other man. The blunette steps away from the offered assistance muttering that he is fine. Obviously he's not. Only having to think about it for a moment, the blonde reaches a decision.

"Fine, I'll help you."

He holds out a pale hand toward the blunette, palm up, and waits expectantly. The other stares at the hand before looking back at the blonde. A wide grin appears on his face and he takes the small hand into his larger one. The handshake stops when the blonde pulls his hand away fiercely.

"No! Give me my money back first." Once again, he holds out his hand to receive his money.

"This?" The blunette pulls out the small bundle of cash from his pocket. It is snatched immediately and the blonde starts to walk back to the car. "It's only ¥2000 (20 USD)."

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The living room of the flat is illuminated as the pair step through the door. The blonde removes his shoes quickly and heads into the kitchen. The blunette moves a bit slower as he takes in the appearance of the flat. If he didn't know any better, he would say that a girl was living here. It is very open and bright. Though the entertainment system and coffee table are black, everything surrounding them are every color on the spectrum. There is a lot of Disney memorabilia placed around the entire flat.

"Are you color blind? I've never seen so many colors in one room."

"Just sit on the couch, and don't touch anything."

Don't touch, so looking is okay. The blunette walks slowly around the room, mostly looking at the different pictures. There is one on the wall of an American woman holding a small baby with platinum blonde hair. The blunette can't help but chuckle at the picture. He was so chunky! Still laughing, his eyes soon fall onto another picture below it. It shows the blonde smiling shyly next to another foreigner. The other guy is tall with red hair. He has a cheeky grin on his features. One of his hands is on top of the blonde's head.

Footsteps behind the blunette tell him that the blonde has returned. He is carrying a small box with a red cross on the top and a bottle of water. Noticing that the blunette is looking at the picture of him and Michael, the blonde stops short. "What are you doing?"

"Is this your boyfriend? Looks kind of greasy to me."

"No one asked you." In a huff the blonde makes his way to the white sofa and plops himself down. "Sit."

The blunette complies and sits beside the blonde. He is momentarily blinded by the baby pink, fuzzy rug and the bright yellow chipmunk blanket. What were those chipmunks' names again? Chuck and Dill? A hand on his chin forces him to look at the blonde and a headband with mouse ears is forced on his head. Immediately, he tries to take it off. "What the hell?"

"It's to keep your hair out of the way, now stop moving!"

Not finding a better option, the blunette sits obediently. The blonde opens the small case revealing a typical first-aid kit. He reaches for the sterilized cleaning pads and gauze. Turning back to his victim, he immediately presses the cleaning pad to his injured forehead… and is rewarded with a pained hiss.

"Shit!" The blunette jumps back while fighting the urge to hold his stinging wound. "You could have warned me!"

Blue eyes glare at him. "Are you five? Just suck it up and let me finish."

The blunette thinks about this for a moment. Deciding he doesn't want to have a bleeding gash on his forehead anymore, he relents. He flinches slightly when the blonde returns the cleaning pad to his wound. The familiar burn returns and the blunette releases another hiss. The blonde ignores him and cleans off the dried blood from the rest of the bluenette's face. Once he is satisfied, he grabs the gauze and places it on the gash with adhesive medical tape.

"There, all done. Was that so bad?"

The blunette decides he should keep his comments to himself unless he wants the blonde to come at him with the cleaning pads again. While the blonde packs away the first-aid kit, he grabs the bottle of water and hands it to his guest. "Here."

Taking the bottle gladly, the blunette uncaps it and brings it to his lips. He instantly regrets this as more pain grips his face. "Ah!" He brings a hand to his lip where the pain is coming from and regrets that too. "Ah!"

"Stop! Let me see." The blonde pulls the other's face closer to get a better look. Once the blunette is able to ignore his second injury, he looks up at the other guy treating him. He really isn't bad looking generally speaking. One could tell that he took very good care of his features. The blunette wasn't a homo on any level, but the way the blonde's brows furrowed slightly as he concentrated… it was kind of cute.

'Cute' on a completely hetero standard anyway.

"It's just a scrape. You just need some anti-bacterial cream to prevent infection." The blonde reaches into the small box again and pulls out a tube of antiseptic. "Don't worry, it won't sting."

The blunette makes a face at the joke while the blonde applies a generous amount to the side of his lip. Once he is satisfied, the blonde starts the pack up again. I thought suddenly pops into the blunette's head. "How do you know how to take care of people like this?"

The blonde hesitates at the question and the blunette can see that his cheeks have taken on a hint of pink. "Ah… well, Michael is a serious baseball player, so he gets hurt often."

The blunette makes the connection that Michael must be the guy in the picture. Shrugging it off, the blunette spots a remote on the armrest. He picks it up and presses the power button. He won't be here long, why not overstay his welcome? Unfortunately, he is not greeted with television. A dvd menu covers the large screen of the tv set. The title near the top reads 'Lovers in Paris.' He could tell it was a Korean production.

"Oh! I forgot I haven't finished this one!" Excitedly, the blonde grabs the dvd player remote and selects a scene from the menu, most likely where he left off. The blunette lets out a loud sigh earning him a glare from his host.

"So you're the kind that likes foreign dramas."

"And what's wrong with that?" The blonde grabs the Disney blanket sitting on the back of the couch and drapes it over his shoulders. A lovely lady dressed in plain clothes appears on the screen. She finds a lost child and tries to help it find her mother. While she is doing this, she meets eyes with a well dressed man. The blunette had to read the subtitles to figure this out.

"These are so unrealistic. Two strangers randomly meeting in ridiculous circumstances, only knowing each other for a few days, and BAM they fall in love." The blonde spares another sideways glare before turning back to the screen. "How can you stand to watch something so cheesy?"

The blonde shushes him as the actress begins to speak again. The blunette can't help but think how pointless that is since he has to read the subtitles anyway. Nevertheless, the blunette spares some of his attention for this drama.

"_What are you doing here? I said I wasn't coming."_

"_I had a feeling you would come anyway."_

A snicker interrupts the atmosphere. The blunette can not see how this can be taken so seriously. "He had a feeling? Is he Spiderman?"

Finally having enough, the blonde presses the pause button. "You don't have to watch, but I actually want to know what happens."

The blonde turns back to the screen, having paused to where there is a good close-up of the main actor. Before he can press the play button, however, a hand appears on the screen. Confused, the blonde looks down to find that it is the blunette's hand. Said blunette is sitting under the tv screen with mischief in his eyes.

"Oh, hello there! Did you want to watch my drama? How flattering!" The blunette has taken on an obnoxious tone and is moving his hands as if they belonged to the actor on screen. "Let me fix my face first. Did you noticed my double eyelids? I just had surgery! Ho ho ho!"

The blonde can help the small smile at the joke. The "actor" continues to primp his face. "Oh, I don't know if I can get anymore handsome than this! Let's see how my acting is. Action!"

The blunette raises his head to look at the blonde. He mouths the words 'press play' and smiles widely while moving back to the couch. The blonde laughs and picks up the remote, resuming the drama. The blunette continues to voice over the main actor in an obnoxious voice.

"Did you enjoy that night in the backseat of my car? Hmm?"

"_If you're asking if it hurt me, the answer is yes!"_

"Oh, don't be like that my dear! A man has to do what a man has to do! Ha ha ha! Ho ho ho!"

"_Wow, you must have made a lot of money!"_

"Well, many women have paid me for my services! I am that good after all! Ho ho ho!"

The blonde doesn't remember when he started laughing so hard. He doesn't even remember what the actors on the screen were supposed to be talking about. After a while, even the blunette can not voice over the drama anymore because he is laughing too hard. When they have calmed down a bit, the blunette turns to the blonde who is still giggling softly.

"So, you got a name?"

The blonde meets the blunette's eyes before turning away in thought. Then he turns back to the other and smiles. "It's better if we don't know each other's names. That way you can't go telling people I hit you with my car."

The blunette laughs at this. "Seriously?" The blonde nods eagerly. The blunette laughs again and thinks about it himself before turning back to the blonde. "Good idea. Then no one will know that I was in a homo's apartment."

The blonde makes a face at the blunette which he returns wholeheartedly. Then they return to the drama. At this point neither one of them knows what is going on. The blunette continues to put in his own dialogue while the blonde laughs sleepily.

They spend the rest of the night laughing at the silly lines and their lack of understanding until sleep overcomes them both.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

_Next Chapter: Octopus should be eaten cooked._

_until next week... if you decide to come back xP_


	2. A Bottle of Soju

_Bwah~! i can't believe i actually forgot to write a note for this story! lol i've been very busy with school starting this week and family flying in from Germany and my cousin's wedding xP_

_IMPORTANT: i will not be updating for the next 2 weeks for the reasons stated above. I just won't have time to write out a decent story line when i'll be packed with stuff. so for the 3 people or so that actually read this (lol) i'm sorry and will come out with a great 3rd chapter on my return^^_

_so anyway here is the chapter that i uploaded on time but didn't bother to proofread or and a note omg xP_

**_Disclaimer: Chapter 1_**

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The blue car coasts along the side of the road until it slows to a stop in front of the train station. The passenger door opens and a young blunette steps out. He is looking ever so untidy and is dressed in his clothes from the day before. However, a smile can be seen as he closes the door and turns to face the car. He sticks his head through the open window to get a better look at the driver. Blue eyes look back at him from behind the wheel.

"Thanks for the ride. You should come by the café later for a drink." The blonde could only see sincerity in the other's eyes at the offer.

"Maybe, if you're still alive." At the comment, the blunette's hand automatically moves up to the bandage still in place on his forehead. He let's out a chuckle and looks back at the blonde.

"I will be if you don't hit me with your car again." He is met with a bright smile from the blonde.

"It's a deal then."

The blunette pats the top of the car in a strange goodbye and steps away from the vehicle one last time. The blonde throws on a pair of his designer sunglasses, if only to hide his sleepy eyes, before pulling away from the curb. He takes one last look at the blunette through his rearview mirror, just to make sure he's ok.

The blunette waits for a moment and watches the vehicle disappear into the morning traffic. Once it is out of sight, he turns and heads for the train station. He has a couple hours before his shift at the café. That is plenty of time to get home and clean up. The night before had been interesting. Although the blonde and himself would still insult each other regularly, this was still the fastest he has ever gotten close to another person. Well, at least a person like the blonde. All of the blunette's friends were just as obnoxious as himself, nothing like the other boy.

As he approaches the security gate leading to his platform, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. He removes his prepaid train card and swipes it quickly before the rotating metal gate allows him through. He still has a few minutes before his train leaves. Unlike many of the people in the station at this time, he is in no rush. As he steps onto the escalator to take him to the lower level he begins to participate in his favorite activity. People watching.

There isn't anybody particularly interesting this morning. Sometimes he was lucky enough to come across a drunk who was abandoned by his friends the night before. They were most likely too much of a nuisance in their intoxication and were left to find their own way home. Drunk people always seemed to brighten the blunette's mood. Just as he is about to reach his platform, he spots an unfamiliar sight.

Or rather, a familiar sight that he hasn't seen in a while.

Hiromi is standing against the far wall. She seems to be waiting for someone. Having been distracted, the blunette stumbles slightly at the bottom of the escalator and bumps into an elder gentleman. Once he regains his balance and apologizes to the other for his clumsiness, his gaze returns to the blunette at the other side of the platform. Feeling somewhat in a good mood, and having not seen Hiromi in a while, the blunette decides to approach her. Taking a silent breath, he begins to make his way through the crowd. However, an unexpected obstacle appears.

The blunette stops as a tall man walks up to Hiromi. A look of excitement appears on her face and she hugs the other man tightly. Obviously, this was who she was waiting for. The tall man leans over and places a quick peck on her cheek before taking her small hand into his. The blunette didn't need to be told what their relationship was.

The guy wasn't bad looking. Generally speaking, he was attractive. However, his gift of decent appearance did nothing to ease the fireworks in the blunette's gut.

Making a quick left, he steps onto the train and plops into the first seat he finds. His gaze focuses on the window opposite from where he saw Hiromi. He doesn't want to see anymore. Only seeing this much has already brought back all of the feelings he had tried to suppress. As the doors close and the train starts to move slowly, the blunette gets lost in his memories. All of them include Hiromi and himself in the café, from their first meeting to all of their inside jokes. They all lead to his last meeting with her, when she told him she met someone, before he could ask her out…

He suddenly remembers that he still has two coupons for a hot spring in Hokkaido.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The heavy door falls shut as the blonde steps into his flat. He slips on his frog slippers and tosses hit keys onto the counter. The blonde immediately heads for the kitchen. He hadn't eaten yet, and the blunette had poked fun at him when his stomach growled on the way to the station. The thought of the blunette brings back memories of watching the drama the night before. The blonde laughs quietly to himself as he searches his fridge for his breakfast.

Before he can decide whether or not he actually wants to cook something, the phone in his pocket vibrates abruptly. The sounds of kissing noises as his ringtone tells him that it's Michael calling. He had completely forgotten about him. After his short notice cancellation, the blonde didn't even try to get a hold of him all night. Hitting someone with your car can be a distracting matter.

Letting the refrigerator door fall shut, the blonde rushes to answer his phone on the last ring.

"Hello, honey."

"_Hey. Look, I'm sorry about last night."_

"It's okay. I mean, I guess I should be getting used to it." He held an air of irritation in his voice, but Michael doesn't notice.

"_Listen, I want to take you out tonight to make it up to you. I've got two tickets to Spark."_

Blue eyes widen at the sudden surprise. Spark is a variety show that the blonde has been wanting to see for the longest time. In his surprise the phone slips from his hand and he fumbles to stop it before it hit's the ground. Finally getting a hold of it, the blonde returns it to his ear in time to hear the end of a question.

"_Do you want to go?"_

"Yes!"

After catching up for a minute, the couple ends the conversation with a promise to meet later. The blonde continues to smile to himself in the middle of his kitchen. Things seem to be looking up. His boyfriend has been the one to make the plans this time, so he can't possibly cancel. On top of that, they're going to see the show that the blonde has wanted to see for a while. Yup, things seem to be looking up.

Except the blonde doesn't know what he's going to wear.

He makes a mad dash to his room to pick something out. After all, he _only_ has six hours before he has to meet Michael.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The image of Hiromi with that other guy continues to replay in the blunette's head. He hasn't thought about her much since she told him she was dating someone. Now seeing her with that someone has brought back all of those feelings plus some new ones. It is now 5:00pm and the blunette has been distracted for his entire shift. Every time he tries to concentrate on an order his mind wonders back to the scene in the train station that morning. He can't afford to keep getting distracted like this.

"Excuse me!"

Speaking of being distracted.

"You have been blending my drink for almost five minutes now. I think it's done." The blunette turns to look at the girl standing in front of the counter. He then looks back at the blender he has been running for, apparently, five minutes. The 'mocha snow' looks absolutely liquefied.

"Sorry, I'll make you a new one."

"Forget it, just give me that one. I'm late enough as it is."

Pouring the drink into a cup quickly, the blunette seals it and hands it to the girl. She slides over the amount due, in exact change, and leaves without tipping. The blunette isn't surprised. He has missed a fair amount of tips today. Just one more hour and he'll be off. How he wants that hour to end quickly.

While he sets about cleaning the blender he has just overworked, the blunette hears the bell above the door chime.

"Welcome."

"You sound beat."

His head snaps around at the sound of that voice. Sure enough, the blonde is once again standing in his café.

"Rough day?"

"Not as bad as yesterday."

The blonde rolls his eyes at the joke and approaches the counter. While the blunette continues to clean up, the blonde searches for a stool to sit at the counter. Finding none, he settles for the children's highchair and slides it over. The blunette chuckles lightly as the blonde hoists himself up onto the top of the highchair. It is not comfortable, but it's tolerable.

"You're going to break it."

"No I'm not."

Having cleaned (almost) everything that needed cleaning, the blunette leans over the counter to get a better look at the blonde. Obviously not child, he does not actually fit in the chair. His legs are draped over the safety bar, but his lower half does fit onto seat. The blunette finds this to be a rather amusing sight.

"I'm surprised you actually stopped by."

"I was going out anyway. Michael is taking me on a date."

The blonde grabs a nearby creamer package to fiddle around with while talking. Michael has told him that it's a bad habit and he should stop. Rather than stopping, the blonde just does it when he's not around, much like drinking coffee.

"What's the plan?"

"A show and then… maybe go to his place…"

"Ooh, naughty!"

The blunette dodges the coffee creamer easily.

"Why don't you make me that drink you promised?"

"Certainly, princess."

As the blunette sets off to make another sweet potato latte, he takes a second to observe the blonde's appearance. He must be excited to dress up even more than he usually does. It's probably been a while since he's gone out with this boyfriend of his. Nevertheless, he does look nice. Although the blunette hates to admit it, and is in no way a homo himself, this Michael fellow is a lucky guy.

The blunette turns back to the latte at hand. Just as he finishes with the sweet potato flavoring, he hears the sound of kissing behind him. He turns his head quickly to confirm that there is no one smooching behind him. The sound is coming from the blonde's cell phone. The blunette rolls his eyes as the blonde answers the call.

"Hello, baby~!"

And another eye roll.

Just as the blunette places a lid onto the paper cup, he nearly jumps out of his skin. The blonde's voice has increased substantially in the last few seconds.

"What? Again?"

Unable to fight the urge to eavesdrop, the blunette turns an ear closer while pretending to look for something on the shelf. By the sound of it, this Michael guy is either going to be late or he's cancelling. Whatever it is, the blonde is not happy about it. He argues for another minute before his voice drops in disappointment.

"Fine… bye."

He snaps his phone shut and shoves it into his bag. The blunette finds this to be the best time to speak up. He picks up the latte and clears his throat to test the atmosphere. When the blonde doesn't maim him, the blunette takes this as the go-ahead.

"Your latte, princess-"

As soon as the cup touches the table, the blonde snatches it up and chugs down half of it's contents. He only stops to sputter when the hot liquid becomes too much for his palette. The blunette retrieves the cup from the other's hands and replaces it with a few napkins.

"Hey! Take it easy! It's not going anywhere!"

Once the blonde's coughs subside he rubs his tongue against the roof of his mouth to confirm that it is sufficiently burnt. He dabs at the corners of his mouth lightly without meeting the blunette's eyes. Said blunette is staring at him with confusion scribbled all over his face with sharpie. Finally, after realizing that the blonde will not explain what just happened without a bit of coaxing, he takes a seat.

"Ok, what was that about?"

As expected, the blonde does not answer right away. Instead, he takes the cup from the blunette, gently this time, and rolls it between his hands. Blue eyes glance up to make sure that he still had the blunette's attention before he gained the nerve to start talking.

"It's Michael… He cancelled on me again."

"Shit."

The blonde narrows his eyes momentarily at the vulgarity. Still, the fact that the blunette seems to be sharing his disappointment, even just to put on a show of compassion, made the blonde feel even just a little bit better. However, the mild mood-lift is brought back down as a depressing thought enters the blonde's mind. He lets out a humorless chuckle while shaking his head.

"He cancelled a date that he had planned to make-up for a past date that he had cancelled."

The blunette is speechless. Even if he himself was not generally considered in the past to be a "good boyfriend," he has never heard of something so ridiculous. You go into relationships to be with someone you care about intimately. If the two parties never spend time together, is there a relationship?

"Maybe it's me. Maybe I expect too much-"

"No. You expect as much as you should. He needs to put in more effort."

Solemn blue eyes fall back onto the paper cup in front of him unconvinced. His demeanor reminded the blunette of a sad puppy in a kennel waiting for his owner. He had the sudden urge to pick him up and take him home, buy him anything he wanted, and play with him until he was happy again…

The puppy, not the blonde.

Still, human or canine, the blunette didn't like to see anyone sad. It was too depressing. It also wasn't in his nature to leave the saddened people in their sorrow. He was just too nosy and loud to leave anyone alone really. He just needed to think of a solution that will help the blonde out of his slump and give him a more positive outlook.

"Let's go drinking."

Alcohol works.

The blonde turns skeptical eyes to the blunette. "What?"

"You heard me. Two strangers going out drinking to forget their struggles in love."

It takes a moment for his words to sink in before the blonde realizes something. "You're having problems with love?"

"Uh, well… kind of, but that's not the point. Come on, I'll close up shop and we'll go."

Blue eyes examine the dark ones looking back at them for any ulterior motives. There are none, only honest intentions and a hint of mischief that never seems to go away. A small smile plays at the blonde's lips before he tilts his head.

"You're not scared of seeming like a homo?"

"I can't deny a pretty lady in distress." To emphasize his point, the blunette tilts his head to look at the blonde through his bangs.

"Oh, so I'm pretty?"

"Sure! If you had a face that looked like somebody else's."

A pale hand covers the blunette's face and shoves him away.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

On a small street lit only by neon signs there are a few street vendors selling late-night snacks and meals. One vendor in particular has even provided his patrons with plastic seats and tables along with a clear tarp to shield them from the light drizzle. At one of these tables is an odd pair. The public standing outside of the tarp would assume that they were close friends having a late dinner together or some drinks. However, the other occupants inside the tarp knew better. Every so often the other tables could pick up a snide comment or insult directed at the other. They were a rather odd pair indeed.

"So you're a bottom right?"

"Do you usually discuss sexual statuses over dinner?"

"I knew it."

The blunette had already had a couple of beers, but his alcohol tolerance was in good shape. He knew he had a few bottles of sake to go before he got anywhere near wasted. The blonde, however, had been closely monitored by his boyfriend and was never allowed to drink alcohol. He was slowly making his way through a bottle of Sayuri.

"So what's the deal with your man? Seems like a player." The blunette shoves a skewer of yakitori into his mouth sideways while waiting for a response.

"He's not a player. He's very loyal to me. He's just… busy."

The blonde grabs his small glass before taking a modest sip. He's happy to have gotten over the sting of the beverage and can now enjoy the flavor.

"Busy laying other blonde catchers like yourself."

"No!" The blonde stops short for a few coughs as his little sore throat disagrees with his yelling. "He's a very talented baseball player and the Giants have put a lot of time and effort into him coming here to pitch for their team!"

"Ok, ok. Calm down. Have a skewer and chill."

Despite his outburst, the blonde does what he's told and takes a bite of chicken. A momentary silence falls over the pair as the blonde finishes his skewer. The blunette downs the rest of his beer and calls to the vendor for a bottle of soju. Once the bottle appears in front of him he immediately pops open the top and takes a good swig.

"So… why do you like the guy?"

If it hadn't been for the blonde's slight alcohol-induced drowsiness, he might have been touched by the blunette's softer tone. But instead he grabs his near empty glass and takes another sip before shrugging his shoulders. He doesn't really feel like listing off all of the things about Michael that makes his heart flutter or his toes curl.

"I'm sure there's nothing you want to hear."

"Humor me."

The blonde examines the other's face for any signs that may imply that the blunette is looking to tease him. However, he doesn't seem to want to poke any more fun at the blonde or his boyfriend. He didn't seem to be too interested at all really. The blunette was just looking for some conversation while he sipped at his soju and watched the population outside of the tarp.

"Well, he was very confident when we first met. Very put-together That's what attracted me to him in the beginning. Although he's not as romantic as I would like… But he cares about me. What more could you ask for in a relationship?"

"How about him actually showing up for half of it?"

Now, in most cases, this would have been the straw that broke that camel's back. Any other person would have lost it by now. But the blonde liked to think that he had more self-control than any other person, and a stronger backbone than a camel. Besides, he had a full arsenal of knife-through-the-scrotum comebacks under his belt, including:

"Speaking of which, where's your girlfriend?"

Ouch.

The soju pulls a fast one by sliding down the wrong tube leaving the blunette sputtering. He wasn't expecting this situation to turn around on him. He planned for a friendly night out drinking with a male companion while said male ranted about his boyfriend neglecting him. Then they would get so drunk they would have to stagger their way to their separate home, somehow get into bed, wake-up with a killer hangover, and forget everything that happened.

Talking about his own lack of a love life had not been included in this plan.

"Hey, I have a girl! We're just… not seeing each other right now."

"She dumped you."

"No."

"She cheated on you."

"No."

"You cheated on her?"

"_No_. And why do you find that hard to believe?"

The blonde shrugs again as he takes another sip from his cup. Coming out for a few drinks wasn't turning out to be the therapeutic experience he thought it would be. Of course the person sitting across from him wasn't any of his close friends. It's safe to say he was probably expecting too much.

"Hey, look at them."

Following the blunette's eyes, the blonde finally notices an older Caucasian couple sitting two tables away from them. They seem to be having trouble with not knowing much Japanese and ordering from the vendor. The vendor seems to figure out what they want and returns to the cart to prepare it.

"Let's mess with them."

"What? You'd better not-"

"_Excu-su me_!"

If it wasn't the fact that the blunette was speaking English that got the couple's attention, it was his terrible pronunciation. Nevertheless, the gentleman offers a huge smile and a friendly wave while his wife offers a modest smile and a nod. Once the blunette has got their attention, he switches back to Japanese and gestures to the food in front of him.

"This food, and the one you're about to order," here the blunette throws in two thumbs up. "is really shit!"

The blonde couldn't believe his ears.

"_The food is good_?"

"Yes, really shit!" More big smiles and thumbs up and all the blonde can do is smile politely.

"If I ate this and threw it back up and cooked it with dog shit, it would only taste better!"

The couple seems very pleased to have been told such… "lovely" things from the young man. The surrounding tables that could understand what was being said, however, are thoroughly disgusted and angered by the boy's antics. Once the couple returns to their own meal angry blue eyes fall on the blunette who is still chuckling to himself.

"That was terrible."

"They don't know that."

No argument there. Seeing as the blonde was still peeved at him, the blunette decides to clear the air.

"Look. They don't know what I really said. All they know is that a nice guy started a conversation with them during dinner. They get a nice experience, I get a laugh, no one gets hurt."

No sooner had the words left his mouth that a plate with a rather lively entrée appear on the table between them. The blonde could only stare at the plate with wide eyes. He didn't remember ordering octopus tentacles. And he _definitely _didn't remember asking for them raw and still moving. While the blonde continues to observe the squirmy limbs, the blunette has started an argument with the old vender who had placed the plate in front of them.

"I'm telling you! We didn't order this!"

"The couple over there paid for it for you. They said 'Give this to the nice young man with the blue hair.'"

To confirm this statement, the blunette looks around the vender to find the same Caucasian couple smiling and waving. They are pleased that their gift of food has been well received. The gentlemen has taken to the blunette's earlier body language of two thumbs up and repeating the word 'good.' Before the blunette can say anymore, the vender returns to his cart to prepare the other orders.

The blonde's face has changed from one of disgust to one of pure enjoyment.

"Well, well. Looks like you're not the only one getting a laugh from this."

The blunette was speechless. How could the fates turn on him like this.

"Eat up. That couple is watching."

"There is no way I can eat those."

"I dare you."

Now, the blunette wasn't one to back down from a challenge. At least, not without a reward.

"Alright, but what do I get in return?"

"What?" The blonde wasn't expecting that. But seeing as the nice couple was getting anxious that their gift hasn't been eaten yet, and the blunette had a full bottle of soju sitting next to him, he came up with an idea.

"I'll drink a full glass of soju"

"What? That's nothing. One full bottle."

Taken back by the demand, the blonde hesitates. But he doesn't want to keep the couple waiting any longer.

"Fine."

A frown suddenly appears on the blunette's face. He wasn't expecting the blonde, who rarely drinks at all, to agree. His eyes slowly fall onto the tentacles still squirming on the plate. Summoning all of his testosterone, he grabs and of the slippery limbs in his hand. Might as well eat them all at once and get it over with.

But the tentacles had other ideas.

The blunette was finding it harder to get the things in his mouth than actually eating them. The blonde had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Once the tentacles were thoroughly tangled around both of the blunette's fingers, he dove in. However, instead of getting the octopus in his mouth like he intended, he managed to get them stuck to his face.

The blonde couldn't hold it in anymore.

Seeing the blonde laugh at his struggles, the blunette couldn't help but to join in. However, his smile with little slimy tentacles sticking out only increased the blonde's laughter.

"Do I look funny?"

The blonde couldn't answer. All he could do was point and laugh some more.

"You know, it's not bad." Then blunette somehow found a way to speak around the octopus. "The flavor really _sticks_ to your mouth."

The blonde has had about all he could take and is now clutching his midsection in pain. Somewhere in his struggles, the blunette manages ingest the slimy delicacy whole. Once he catches his breath, his eyes fall on his blonde companion who is still giggling lightly. The sight brings a smile to the blunette's face.

He can't wait to burst his bubble.

A loud thud startles the blonde out of his euphoria. He looks up to find a full bottle of soju sitting on the table in front of him. He then looks past the bottle at the blunette who is looking absolutely smug.

"You're turn. One bottle, like we agreed."

This time, the blonde had no snappy remarks. His blue eyes fall back onto the bottle. The blunette had taken the liberty of opening it for him.

How sweet.

Nervously, he wraps his hand around the neck of the bottle and gently lifts it off of the table. His blue eyes fall back on the expectant blunette before looking back at the sadistic liquid in the bottle. He takes one more deep breathe before placing the bottle to his lips and tilting it back.

He fights the burn in the back of his throat and continues to drink. He can hear the jeers and remarks from the blunette but his hearing has gotten a bit fuzzy. And so has his vision. He sees that he has gotten through half of the bottle before…

Everything goes black.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

_Next Chapter: When your boyfriend calls, answer._

_Until approximately the 17th of September... *cries*_


	3. A Movie Theater-Sized Forehead

_SoooOOOOooooo seeing as I accidentally put the same scene in both chapter 3 and chapter 5, I have edit the scene out of this chapter and replaced it with a better scene in my opinion~_

_Not much else to say besides that... Enjoy!_

**_Disclaimer: Chapter 1_**

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

A throbbing headache.

This is what the blonde had the pleasure of waking up to. It took some effort for him to force his blue eyes open, and once he did he snapped them shut again. Everything was just too bright. After a short moment of cringing, the blond finally pried his eyes open a second time. He took a look around the room. From the bright light coming in through the balcony window, he guessed it was around noon. All of the lights in the apartment were off and there was not a sound except from outside the window. The blonde reached over to his right where his alarm clock was located to check the time. He fumbled around blindly for a moment before turning to search for the device visually. It wasn't there. Then it hit him.

This wasn't his apartment.

In fact, this wasn't any apartment he was familiar with. Like a shot the blonde sits up straight on the bed he has been occupying. The room is very plain. There is a lack of furniture and thought to interior design. Definitely not any apartment he has been in before.

While pondering this current situation the blonde, out of habit, crosses his legs. A sudden draft around his lower region draws his attention downward at his attire. One solitary, royal blue satin robe. The blonde gently pulls open the collar of the robe to take a look at his clothing underneath… or lack there of.

Time to panic.

The blonde, ignoring his pounding head, shoots to his feet and bursts through the nearest door. Luckily it was a bathroom. He grips the edge of the sink as he examines himself in the mirror. No strange on his face or neck, but he has just notice that there is a shower cap sitting snug on his head.

Feeling a bit better at his seeing his unharmed appearance, the blonde relaxes. Now he just needs to figure out how he got here… and where "here" is. As he starts to try and recap the events that occurred prior to waking up, a familiar sound reaches his ears. A _very_ familiar sound.

Someone's pissing.

Nervous blue eyes find the mirror once again and focus on a new image behind the blonde. A lean, tan body clad only in boxers is standing in front of the toilet, back turned. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the blunette was doing. The head of navy hair suddenly turns and looks at the blonde tiredly through the mirror.

"If you need to piss I'm almost done."

…

The blunette had to hold on to the toilet out of surprise when the blonde fills the bathroom with a horrified scream. He looks back in time to see said blonde hurry out of the bathroom hysterically. Turning his attention back to his "business" the blunette finishes quickly and follows the blonde out of the bathroom. While still adjusting his boxers, the blunette enters the bedroom. He is greeted warmly by a pillow to the face… followed by his own pants.

"You _rapist_! You _pervert_! You _asshole_!"

The blonde has become determined to throw every possible insult at the blunette, along with half of the room.

"Hold on a second- oof!"

Removing the comforter from his head, the blunette enjoys a pause in the blonde's hurricane. However, the blonde is still armed with another pillow.

"We didn't do anything last night."

"Then what happened?! Why am I in a robe?!"

"I don't know. You complained it was hot and started stripping-"

The blonde lets out another scream and hurls the pillow at the laughing blunette. Before he can take aim with the shoes around the room, the blunette puts up a hand to stop him while still chuckling.

"I'm just kidding! Just kidding! You said you wanted to take a shower and took my robe. See? You still have my shower cap."

Remembering the shower cap, the blonde instinctually reaches up to confirm that it is still snug on his head. Suddenly feeling bad for accusing the blunette, he casts his eyes downward at the footwear in his hands.

"So nothing happened?"

"Of course not. I ain't no homo."

The blonde throws the shoes anyway.

Rubbing the sore spot where the shoe impacted, the blunette heads to the bed and plops down taking the comforter with him. The blonde walks towards the balcony while massaging his headache that has grown significantly in the last minute. The room is quiet while its occupants fall into their own thoughts: the blonde trying to remember what actually happened last night and the blunette trying to figure out how to clean his newly acquired mess. Both jump slightly when the sounds of kissing fill the room.

"My phone."

The blonde suddenly regrets having made such a mess as his phone is probably buried somewhere under it. While he picks up his clothes off of the floor in search of the device, the blunette follows the vibrations he feels coming from the bed. Finding the noise coming from under the comforter he reaches in and grabs the baby blue device. Looking at the outer screen he sees a shocking message.

"Whoa! 112 missed calls from Michael!"

"What?! Shit!"

The blonde quickly grabs the offered phone and tries to compose himself before answering. The blunette finds it funny how he fixes his hair for a phone call.

"Hello baby~"

"_Where have you been_?"

Obviously not answering 112 of Michael's calls has put him in an unpleasant mood.

"Oh, well I went out after you had called-"

"_And you couldn't answer your phone_?"

"I-It was dying so I turned it off. I'm sorry I didn't think you'd call and-"

"_Were you drinking_?"

"Drinking?…. Well, a little bit."

The blunette chuckles at the understatement earning a glare from the blonde.

"_Is someone there with you? Who is it_?"

Shit.

"Sweetie, calm down. It's not a big deal-"

"_Not a big deal? You were out all night killing off your liver and it's not a big deal? What were you thinking?"_

"Well… I was upset after you cancelled on me again."

"_So you run off and get drunk? Are you going to become an alcohol now? Because I'm busy? If these are the kind of ridiculous things you do then we should just break up."_

Blue eyes grow wide at the suggestion.

"B-Break up?"

The blunette's head snaps toward the blonde at the heart crushing tone. This isn't fun anymore.

"_In fact, let's just break up now. I'm tired of taking care of such a stupid guy. All you do is get emotional and jump into things without a second thought. So stupid."_

"Stupid huh?! Fine! We're over!"

The blunette didn't know what to do. Sure, he thought this Michael guy was a loser, but the blonde really seemed to love him. Would it be okay to let him end it like this? Not to mention, the blunette felt a little bit responsible.

"I'm tired of you controlling me like I'm a child! Do this! Don't do that! So annoying! All you care about is your stupid baseballs and baseball bat! Why don't you go have sex with those?! You'll never do better than me! I'm going to go to every club and mess with every guy! I'll drink as much soda and coffee as I want! I'll put on a skanky maid dress and parade around Tokyo! I'll be all slutty now!"

And with that, the blonde snaps his phone shut ending the call and, essentially, his relationship.

The blunette was a little worried when the blonde continued to stare into space, his phone still clenched in his fist. As reality sinks in, the blonde starts to breathe again after realizing he hadn't been. He blinks a few times as the last parts of the conversation replay in his head. As everything hits him like a freight train, he brings his hands up to cover his face.

The blunette continues to watch from the bed.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

There were happy families, couples, and friends all over. No one seemed to be down at all or worried about anything. Every person within hearing was laughing or joking. No one was frowning. Even the babies and toddlers weren't being fussy. The world on the streets of Tokyo seemed to be just too loud, cheerful, and self-satisfied.

Well, only compared to the gloomy pair walking down the sidewalk.

After the intense phone call back at the blunette's apartment, said blunette offered to walk the blonde back to where he last remembered driving to recover his car. That had been one of the only things said before leaving the apartment. Nothing has been said since. Usually the blunette would try to joke about anything, but this just wasn't the time. The blunette has had his own particular experience with heartbreak. He wasn't about to rub salt into this wound.

Reaching a pedestrian bridge that would take them across a busy street, the blonde suddenly veers to the right and grips the railing. For a split second the blunette thought he was going to jump, but he was just standing there. The blunette quickly joins the blonde at the railing, if anything to make sure he didn't decide to jump.

Dark eyes fall onto the blonde's sullen face. He was finding it harder than usual to come up with something to say that might help-

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

The blunette jumped about a foot in the air.

"I HATE YOU! YOU CONTOLLING JERK!"

When the blonde seemed to be satisfied, the blunette found it safe to approach.

"Hey, it's good to let it all out. It's bad to keep it all-"

"AND THAT TIME YOU TOLD ME NOT TO WEAR EXPENSIVE ACCESSORIES CAUSE IT MAKES YOU LOOK CHEAP, I'VE BEEN WEARING THEM THE WHOLE TIME! YOU JUST NEVER NOTICED BECAUSE YOU _ARE_ CHEAP! I'LL WEAR THEM ALL THE TIME !"

This time the blunette knew the blonde was finished as fresh tears fell from his eyes with a choked sob. He takes one last look at the people staring at them from the street below and the walkway behind them before stepping closer to the blonde.

"ME TOO!"

It was the blonde's turn to jump.

"I'LL WEAR EXPENSIVE STUFF TOO!"

Suddenly realizing something, the blunette turns his head to the blonde and smiles embarrassed.

"But I don't think I can afford it."

A soft laugh flows from the blonde's lips and blunette felt the most relieved he has ever felt in a long time. The blonde wipes the tears from his face before giving the blunette another brilliant smile.

The blunette returns it wholeheartedly.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

"I want fresh fruit with my shaved ice."

"I told you I'd buy for you."

"But it's more expensive."

"I'll pay for it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Thank you~"

The blunette eyes the blonde's cute grin suspiciously.

"That's how you got Michael to buy you stuff, right?"

"I'm pretty sure I've mastered the technique."

The blunette rolls his eyes as a waitress approaches to take their orders. They had found the blonde's car unharmed in the parking garage where they had left it. Since the car was kept overnight, and therefore ended up under the security guard's care, the blonde had to pay a handful to retrieve it. Feeling bad for the blonde's string of bad luck, the blunette offered to treat him to something. This is how they ended up in this bakery/café, the blonde as happy as can be and the blunette praying this place didn't serve filet-mignon.

Once the waitress jotted down both of their orders, they were left in peace once more. The blonde catches a glimpse of the small TV behind the counter playing a Korean drama. It is the typical scene of the guy confessing his undying love for the leading lady. These were usually the blonde's favorite scenes, but in his current situation it took the smile right off of his face. The blunette didn't miss this.

"So, how are you doing?"

Snapping out of his soap opera trance, the blond sends a weak smile to the blunette.

"The feeling comes and goes. It will get better eventually."

"Not if you keep dwelling on it."

Blue eyes meet dark ones before the blonde looks back toward the TV. The blunette leans forward on his elbows hoping he still had the blonde's attention.

"Look, it's okay to go back to the happy memories you had with… _him_ sometimes, but you need to stay positive about now. You have to move on sometime. Better sooner than later."

Once again the blonde meets the blunette's gaze. He lets his words sink in before sending him a much more honest smile and a nod.

At this time the waitress returns with a tray of the blonde's highly embellished shaved ice and the blunette's pork sung sandwich and coffee. The next few moments are spent in silence as the pair fills their empty stomachs. Being too distracted by his food, the blunette doesn't notice when the blonde suddenly slows down in eating his shaved ice. The blonde slows down so much he is essentially playing with the dessert. Once the blunette is pretty much done with his sandwich, he decides to speak.

"So, do you want to tell me your name now?"

The blonde looks up slowly from his melted desert. Through his solemn expression, one could see confusion also present on his features.

"I thought we agreed to not know each other's name."

The blunette chuckles lightly.

"So we are really going to go through our knowing of each other nameless?"

"Why not? Like I said before, If we knew each other's name we would have to care about each other."

The blunette chuckles again and shakes his head. As the blonde goes back to playing with his desert, a thought comes to the blunette's head.

"So I can say whatever and you won't get mad."

That blonde looks up again and smiles proudly.

"Of course not!"

"Pig nose."

Blue eyes widen in shock.

"Elephant ears."

The blonde's eyes widen further as he subconsciously brings a hand up to his ear.

"Albino complexioned, flat figured, buck toothed, sasquatch footed, skeleton limbed, poor-example-of-a-man pansy boy with a movie theater-sized forehead."

Blue eyes stare on as the blonde wonders if the blunette is finished. He gets his answer when another wide grin spreads across his companion's face.

"Mad?"

The blonde smiles softly and shakes his head.

"Of course not."

"Cool!"

The blunette laughs happily and looks down at his phone. While he is preoccupied, the blonde's smile turns into a scowl and his mouth forms one word.

'Asshole.'

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The blunette steps out of the car in front of his apartment. This is the second time the blonde has dropped him off somewhere. The blunette can't help but wonder if this will become a usual thing. Turning and closing the door, he leans on the open window to get a good look at the blonde.

"So I guess we'll run into each other again."

"Yup, see you around…"

The pair looks at each other in a sudden state of perplexity, both realizing the same thing. The blonde is the one who voices their astonishment.

"We still don't know each other's names!"

The blunette chuckles at the unbelievable occurrence. How could he go so long being around someone without finding out their name?

"So what's your name girly?"

The blonde is about to answer out of habit, but suddenly pulls back. A sly grin finds it's way to his face.

"No. We shouldn't know each other's names"

"We shouldn't?"

The blonde shakes his head excitedly before sending another grin to the blunette.

"I don't think we can really call each other friends. We're more like strangers who use each other."

The blunette thinks about this for a moment before nodding.

"Strangers who use each other… I like it."

Both agree that this is the relationship path they will take. They offer their short goodbyes before the blunette finally steps away from the vehicle. Before he gets too far from the car, however, the station on the radio suddenly switches to a news report. Out of pure chance, the blunette catches most of the information being relayed.

"… _and many are still flocking to Hokkaido to get their winter trips in before the beautiful weather disappears. The hot springs and festivals are popular among…"_

A crazy idea strikes the blunette and he turns back to the car quickly before it can drive off.

"Hey girl!"

The blunette didn't know whether to be relieved that he caught the blonde's attention with that, or to just laugh.

"You want to go on a trip?"

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

Sitting in his apartment lobby with a packed suitcase waiting for the blunette to arrive at 4am, the blonde was starting to regret agreeing to "going on a trip" with the blunette. It was a pretty ridiculous process they needed to go through seeing as they would be taking a plane and required their real names. The blonde had to book on his own but was not allowed to look at the flight details while the blunette had to deal with confirmation while trying to avoid seeing the blonde's name. The blonde was starting to wonder why this stranger agreement was so important.

Maybe the thrill of a new kind of acquaintanceship.

As he yawns for the nth time that morning, the cell phone rings its default tone. Looking at the caller id reading "That One Guy," the blonde answers quickly.

"Where are you?"

"Outside. Come now."

The blonde giggles quietly as he hears the other yawn before hanging up the phone. Standing and grabbing the handle of his luggage, he heads for the exit. The old doorman opens the door for him with a "have a safe trip."

Parked in front of the apartment complex is a taxi and a very drowsy looking blunette.

"How is it that it was your idea to go on this trip ad yet you look less prepared than me."

"Just shut up and get in."

The older taxi driver takes the blonde's suitcase and places it in the trunk before heading to the front of the car. As he passes the blonde's side of the car he gently closes his door for him with a smile. The blunette scoffs at the action. The blonde shakes it off without a care. Being so grumpy, it's no wonder no one wants to be nice to the blunette. Once the taxi pulls out onto the street and starts heading for the airport the blunette's mood lightens slightly.

"Excited?"

"Not really. I don't know where were going."

Fair enough.

As the car continues down the empty streets the driver turns on the radio. Seeing as the blonde was the only passenger he felt comfortable addressing, the driver met his blue eyes through the rearview mirror.

"Is there anything particular you'd like to listen to?"

"Could you change it to 84.4?"

The blunette turns a curious ear to the conversation from position leaning against the door.

"What's on 84.4?"

"It's FM Tachikawa. Aina and Yumachi should still be on."

As the blonde finishes the car is filled with the voices of two soft-spoken radio hosts. There is no music playing so it sounds like talk radio.

"Who are they?"

"They give advice to callers about work, friends, and love."

"Lame."

The blonde ignores the sour attitude next to him as he and the cab driver enjoy the end of the talk show.

"This will have to be our last caller as the show is nearing it's end."

"Caller you're on the air."

"_Hello. My name is Rena. Recently I started dating an American guy."_

"How exciting! You must be very popular now."

"_It's nice being together, and I do love him, but sometimes communication is difficult. We get into fights often because of misunderstandings."_

Suddenly becoming interested, the blunette decides to put his two cents in.

"Nothing good can come from dating a foreigner."

Angry blue eyes fall on the blunette and the sheer intensity of them catches the blunette's attention.

"Oh… sorry."

"_What should I do?"_

"Well, when verbal communication fails, you should rely on body language."

"That's true. Even if you can't convey exactly what you're thinking, at least you can still show you love each other."

The blonde nods enthusiastically in agreement while the blonde scoffs and shakes his head.

"Excuse me sirs, we're here."

The two follow the taxi driver out of the car. The blonde has a nicer time with this as the taxi driver opens his door for him. The blunette scoffs again at his poor treatment. While they wait for the driver to retrieve their bags from the trunk, the blonde watches the blunette count out his money in the exact amount. No tip included.

"Here you are sirs. I wish you a safe trip."

"Here."

The blunette hands the driver his money roughly before grabbing his luggage and heading for the entrance. The blonde glares at the blunette's back before quickly pulling out some money from him jacket pocket.

"Here you are. Thank you for our safe arrival."

The blonde grabs his luggage and follows the blunette into the airport quickly. Once inside he searches quickly for a familiar head of blue hair. He finds him standing in front of domestic flight check-in. Spotting the blonde approaching behind him, the blunette reaches for his luggage.

"Give me your bag, I'll check us in. You wait here."

Seeing as the blunette wants to keep their destination a secret, the blonde hands over his suitcase without a fight. While the blunette takes care of the luggage, the blonde walks over to the airline's listed departures. Which one could be their's?

The blunette finishes soon and spots the blonde checking out the departures list. Worried that the blonde might somehow figure out where they are going, the blunette hurries to his companion. Taking hold of his shoulders, he turns the blonde around and pushes him in the direction of their gate and security check.

"Now, now. There will be none of that."

"You know I'll find out eventually."

"Eventually, not now."

The blonde pulls away from the blunette's hold and they walk normally through the airport. Walking past some of the duty free shops, the blonde heads into one quickly. The blunette follows as to not be separated and finds the blonde buying a packet of gum. Once they leave the shop, the blunette turns to the blonde.

"What's the gum for?"

"So I can chew it on the plane when my ears pop."

"How very girly of you."

"If you want a piece you could just ask."

"… Maybe later."

Before long the pair reach the security check lines. Once he is close enough, the blonde spots a sign repeated in front of every line. It is informing very passenger to have their shoes off, laptops out of their bags, and boarding passes in hand…

Turning to the blunette, the blonde sees that he has also spotted the sign. The blonde folds his arms satisfied. He'll need to have his boarding pass and with that he will find out where exactly they are going. The blunette meets the blonde's eyes and for a moment they seem to speak telepathically.

"Well?"

"Fine. But you can't flip out here, got it?"

"Just show me."

The blunette removes the backpack from his shoulders and rummages through one of the smaller pockets. He pulls out an envelope with the airlines logo on it. The envelope had been kept sealed as they had agreed prior. The blunette eyes the blonde once again.

"You can't freak out."

"I won't freak out."

Standing back up, boarding passes in hand, the blunette slowly holds out the envelope to blonde. Just as the blonde is about to take it, the blunette suddenly pulls it back to himself.

"You promise?"

"I promise!"

Once again the blunette holds the envelope out to the blonde, and once again the blonde reaches for the envelope.

And once again the blunette pulls it away.

"For the last time-"

"I'm just taking my boarding pass out first! Don't want you to sneak any peaks."

The blonde rolls his eyes at the blunette's childish lack of trust. Once the envelope is opened, the blunette luckily finds his boarding pass sitting in front of the other. Quickly pulling it out, he holds it against his chest to keep it out of sight from the blonde. He then roughly hands the envelope to the blonde who is finally able to take it.

Once The blonde is able to actually open the envelope himself, it is his turn to stall. He could see the blunette waiting anxiously in his peripheral. Taking one last glance at his companion, the blonde reaches into the envelope and takes hold of his boarding pass. The first thing he does is check the name to make sure the blunette had really taken his own. Then his eyes fall onto the other details: row number, seat letter, gate number, departing from, arriving in…

"Hokkaido?!"

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

_Next Chapter: Hot, cold, comfortably warm. Is this what they call love?_

_Reviews are nice and hope you enjoyed!_


	4. Pink Fleecy Bunnies

_Yay update^^ /shot_

_I. Feel. TERRIBLE!_

_I have been away for so long and I am so sorry T^T I can't even explain what has happened, so I won't try. Anyway, this chapter is the longest I have written EVER! I hope you enjoy it. I wanted to produce something worth while after being away for so long... I'm not sure how this chapter matches the others after that break either..._

_I won't keep you anymore, but please don't lose faith in me xP reviews are always appreciated!_

_**Disclaimer: Chapter 1**_

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

"Ladies and gentlemen we have now arrived at Sapporo Okadama Airport. The time is now 10:00am. Luggage can be picked up at baggage claim carousel 4. Please take care as the temperature is 5°C. We hope you enjoy your stay in Sapporo and thank you for flying with us."

The majority of the small plane's passengers ignore the stewardess as they quickly prepare to exit the aircraft. Everyone was obviously happy to have landed; some excited to be visiting Hokkaido and others happy to be back home. Even the small girl sitting near the front of the plane was no longer crying. Another man sitting closer to the middle of the aircraft was on his cell phone happily informing his family of his safe return from Tokyo.

Yes, everyone was in a positive mood and looking forward to see Sapporo.

All except for the blonde… and the blunette he is currently glaring at.

Unlike the rest of the passengers who had ignored the stewardess' last announcement, the blonde had heard her every word. Specifically the fact that the current temperature was 5°C. And unlike all of the other passengers, happily bundling up for the chill awaiting them, the blonde only had a thin jacket. This was not his fault. This was the blunette's fault. The very same blunette sitting next to him, looking guilty, overcoat in hand. He had failed to mention that the surprise destination he was taking the blonde to would be a few degrees above freezing.

Slowly, dark eyes come up to meet the blonde's fiery ones.

"Sorry."

"_Sorry_?"

"I forgot to mention it!"

At this time the aisle was packed with people waiting to exit the plane. The blunette also slid out of his seat while pulling on his jacket. The blonde quickly undid his seatbelt and hopped one seat over so the blunette was still within earshot.

"I understand not telling me where we were going, but one does not simply _forget_ that this place is nothing short of frigid."

"Well, I did."

From his peripheral, the blunette caught movement at the front of the aircraft. The door has been opened and the passengers were slowly making their way out. Once the passengers standing closer to the pair start to move, the blunette grabs his bag and makes a final check to ensure he had all of his belongings. His eyes fall back onto the blonde who is not only looking very irritated but a little worried at this point.

"Come on," the blunette jerks his head to the exit. "Let's go."

He lets the blonde slide out into the aisle in front of him and follows him off the plane. Once the pair squeeze past the crowd of people standing in the gate area it doesn't take long to find the baggage claim in the small airport. Unfortunately, for the blunette, it took ages. Only because not much was said between the pair the whole way there.

Well, the blunette did a lot of talking at first, but the blonde didn't give him much to work with, just a lot of attitude.

Now the blunette was standing in front of the baggage carousel alone while his companion is off searching for a store that sells jackets. Hopefully, he can find one. But what if he gets angry for having to spend money on a new jacket because the blunette forgot to tell him to bring one? And what if there aren't any jackets that the blonde likes and he'll be angry about having to wear an "ugly" jacket that he had to spend money on because the blunette forgot to…

On second thought, hopefully he can't find any.

Spotting his own suitcase, the blunette effortlessly lifts it off of the belt just as he feels a tense presence next to him. He glances to the side quickly to spot a head of familiar blonde. Trying to not seem so anxious, he sets down the luggage calmly and turns back to the carousel. A sideways glance is all he offers his travel companion.

"Any luck?"

"No, just souvenirs and food."

"Well, this isn't exactly Narita."

Expecting a sharp comeback, the blunette was surprised when none came. Looking down at the blonde, the blunette could see all of his earlier irritation had left and was replaced with… disappointment. He was clearly not looking forward to this trip with how it was starting out.

The blonde's eyes come alive for a second when he spots his suitcase on the carousel. He quickly goes to grab it but greatly underestimates the weight of what he had packed. Before the luggage can take him away with it, it suddenly becomes lighter and easy to lift off of the belt. It takes the blonde a moment to realize that a pair of strong, tan arms have taken hold of the other side of the suitcase.

"Oh… thanks."

The blunette doesn't answer. He's busy taking in the blonde's disinterest in this whole trip. This was absolutely not how he imagined this trip starting out. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint the blonde. Maybe tease and ruffle his feathers, but not disappoint. He'd had enough of disappointment in his own life.

A thought suddenly hits the blunette and he drops the suitcase leaving the blonde to struggle with it on his own. The blonde makes a small shriek of surprise, both from the now heavy suitcase and the blunette suddenly dashing in the opposite direction.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Stay here."

In a flash the blunette disappears through the small mass of people. Once his suitcase is upright and on the ground, the blonde stares after him in confusion. Normally he doesn't follow the orders of someone who up and abandons him, but in his current location and situation, listening to the blunette seemed like the best idea at this point. A few minutes of staring at the baggage carousel later, the blonde spots blue hair in the crowd coming towards him.

Once the blunette comes to a stop, the blonde can see that he is slightly out of breath. He also spots a yellow shopping bag in his right hand.

"Here."

The blunette extends his other hand to the blonde, not the one with the shopping bag. In it is a bundle of fabric. After taking the item and unfolding it, the blonde sees that it is the blunette's jacket. He hadn't noticed that he had taken it off. The blonde looks between the blunette and the jacket in his hands quizzically.

"But what about you?"

Without saying a word, the blunette holds up the yellow bag for a moment before turning to the suitcases.

"Come on, we gotta catch a cab."

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

Standing on the sidewalk in front of the airport surrounded by piles of snow, the blonde had never had such an urge to laugh in his life.

"Stop it."

His abdomen convulses in silent snickers that he is fighting hard to prevent.

"Stop… what?"

"Stop laughing."

Slowly, the small convulsions turn into occasional snickers… which turn into giggles… which turn into the blonde laughing loudly while drawing attention from the passersby. All of this was not helping the blunette's current situation.

His "situation" being standing outside in 5°C weather in a baby pink fleece blanket covered in bunnies.

"It was the only thing I could find okay?"

"Yeah right! I bet you secretly love bunnies!"

The blunette had to glare as the blonde forced his words out in between giggles. He wanted to hurry and find a clothing store so the blonde could buy a new jacket. The blunette didn't know how long his ego could survive wrapped in a pink bunny blanket, never mind the fact that he was still freezing. Although, as the blunette watched the blonde laugh at his (very pink) situation once again, he could not help but feel incredibly relieved.

A familiar yellow car pulls up to the taxi stop as the blonde's laughter subsides. The blunette takes hold of his suitcase and makes his way to the vehicle.

"Come on, fruit tart, get in."

The blonde's smile doesn't fade as he follows the blunette's lead.

"You know, right now you look more fruity than I do."

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

Blue eyes take in the sight before them in awe. They slide slowly over the dark wood of the pitched roof minding every intricate detail. Below they fell onto the gorgeous craftsmanship surrounding the entrance. Surrounding the stone steps sat perfectly rounded hedges that appear to have been freshly trimmed. In the middle of the hedges lay two small ponds. The blue eyes could not see into the waters, but one would assume there was aquatic foliage and fish. He wondered why the water wasn't frozen since everything else was covered in snow. He assumed it was slightly heated for the fish. In front of the second pond, a sign could be found. 'Ginrinso' was neatly carved into the wood.

"Can you move so I can get out of the cab, too?"

The blonde suddenly remembered where he was standing and moves slightly to allow the blunette to join him. The pair had just arrived at the location that the blunette has been keeping secret. The taxi ride up to the hill top was rather long and the blonde had to fight to stay awake. Once they arrived, the blonde stepped out of the taxi first. That was when he stopped dead in his tracks after taking in the unbelievable sight before him…

Much like what he is doing now.

"Impressed?"

Snapping out of his thoughts for the second time that day, the blonde turns to the blunette who seems very pleased with himself at the moment. Well, as pleased as he could be while standing in freezing weather wrapped in a pink blanket. Trying to appear absolutely unimpressed, the blonde turns his attention to his luggage that the taxi driver had just placed on the ground.

"Impressed with what?"

"My amazingly and sneaky ability to attain a discount to one of the most famous hot springs in the Hokkaido area providing you with a once-in-a-lifetime top-of-the-line luxurious experience that you have never come across in your entire life _ever_!"

"It's alright."

"_Alright?"_

The blunette stares at the blonde in disbelief. His hard expression, however, slowly changes once he gets a glimpse of the blonde's face. Blue eyes shifting nervously, pursed lips and aimlessly looking over the contents of his bag. This was surely the look of someone trying to hide their excitement.

"You _are _impressed!"

A small smile fights it's way to the blonde's face.

"Say it~."

When the blonde can no longer hide his grin he simply turns his back to the blunette. Said blunette, however, is unrelenting.

"Come on," two fingers poke at the blonde's cheeks from behind. "Tell me I did a good job."

Small hands grab larger ones and pull them down before the blonde turns to meet the blunette's eyes. At first he seems angry and the blunette becomes nervous. Then a grin suddenly appears on the blonde's features as he tip-toes so his face is much closer to the blunette's.

"You did a very good job."

The blunette is speechless.

For the first time since meeting the blonde, after all of the arguing and the sarcasm, he has finally said something… nice! Hell, he was even praising the blunette. It almost seemed certain that the two were destined to snap at each other for the rest of their knowing each other. But that all seemed to change in that one instant. This is probably why the blunette's heart has started beating more noticeably, and why his breathing is more strained.

It is definitely not because the blonde has a gorgeous smile.

"Are you coming?"

The blunette snaps out of his thoughts to see the blonde no longer standing in front of him. Instead, he has grabbed his luggage and has made his way up the stairs to the entrance. The blunette's own luggage is still sitting next to him on the ground.

"Or do you want to stand there and turn into a snowman?"

Indeed, the blunette was starting to collect the falling snow. Grabbing his suitcase from under his pink blanket, he glances once more at the smug looking blonde at the top of the stairs.

Yeah right, like his heart would beat fast for a guy. And a guy like this.

Once the two are checked-in they are shown to their room by an inn attendant. The two begin to explore the room while the attendant sets about preparing the amenities for the guests.

"Thank you and please enjoy your stay."

The polite inn attendant bows out of the room gracefully and slides the door shut.

Once alone, the pair begin to look around the room once more in amazement. They have been checked into a luxurious traditional tatami style room. The whole room is divided into three smaller areas by two sets of sliding doors. The first room consists of the living space complete with television set, sitting arrangements, and various board games. The second room is the largest and has a door leading out to a garden area. This is also the dining area with a kotatsu and two seats. The final room is the sleeping area and joined water closet where the attendant has laid out the futons for the night. This is also the room that the blunette is currently heading to.

"And where exactly are you going?"

"To take a nap, I'm beat."

"Oh no you don't! We're going to the hot springs!"

The blunette stares at the blonde in disbelief.

"You _are_ Japanese, right? You can't spoil a hot spring by jumping into it as soon as you get to the onsen. You have to appreciate the scenery first."

"That's no spoiling-."

"You don't go to see your family and head straight to the dinner table as soon as you get there, right? No, you enjoy the company first."

The blonde is a little embarrassed by the statement and falters slightly.

"Well… you definitely can't take in the scenery by sleeping the experience away!"

The pair continue to stare at each other, both determined not to lose the argument. However, as the seconds tic by, the atmosphere becomes a little awkward. Eventually, the two break eye contact. They are both still irritated, but the situation needs to be remedied somehow. The blonde is the first to make such an attempt.

"Look, you're right about not spoiling the hot springs."

The blunette offers a sideways glance. He's a bit shocked that the blonde admitted he was wrong.

"And… you're right about not sleeping the experience away."

"So… what should we do?"

The two fall silent again as they begin to think of something to fill the time. Looking around the room, the blonde's eyes fall on the small window across the room. He can see the trees and mountains outside.

"I'd like to see Sapporo."

The blunette's eyes shift to the window momentarily before he nods briefly.

"You need to buy a jacket too."

The blonde swallows a snicker at the reminder of the pink blanket of disaster. Hopefully, the blunette didn't notice it. The blonde follows the blunette to the door. The blunette picks up his blanket once more and wraps it around his shoulders.

"Well, let's go see Sapporo. The sooner you get a jacket the better."

The blonde nods in agreement and grabs the blunette's jacket he has been borrowing and follows the other out of the room. His stomach does a small back flip in anticipation of what they might find in Sapporo.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

"You know, I never thought having my own jacket back would feel so good."

The blunette looks absolutely content snuggled up in the back seat of the taxi. The only visible parts of him were his nose and eyes. Everything else was covered by clothing. He resembles a turtle in its shell. It was almost unbearable to let the blonde borrow his property for so long. Thinking about it now, the jacket smells like the blonde's cologne…

"I never thought getting out of your filthy jacket would feel so good."

Indeed, the blonde was wrapped in a brand new Silver Bullet jacket with faux fur lining. It took quite a while to find a store that the blonde was satisfied enough with to just walk into. Now the blonde has become the second turtle snuggled in the backseat.

"I never thought it would feel so good to _not_ spend ¥20,000* on a jacket."

The pair glare at each other momentarily before returning their concentration to being comfortably warm.

A little while ago, after finding the blonde's new jacket, the blunette told the taxi driver that they wanted to see Sapporo. The driver responded by saying that there was only one place to go in Sapporo this time of year. He had then promised to take them there. That was about 15 minutes ago and they have just pulled up to an area that is full of people and lit with different colored lights.

"It's suddenly very lively outside."

The blunette listens to the noise outside for a second before grabbing the driver's attention.

"Hey, gramps. What's going on here?"

The friendly looking driver puts the car into park before turning to address his passengers.

"This is the famous Sapporo Snow Festival, of course!"

He receives only blank stares from the pair in the backseat.

"What's this? You two whippersnappers have never heard of the Snow Festival? It's absolutely famous!"

"Uh… No offense gramps, but all we've seen since we got off the plane is snow. Why would we want to see a festival dedicated to the stuff?"

The old driver shakes his head in disbelief. However, he decides to make one last effort for the sake of the two grumpy men in his taxi.

"The Snow Festival is where everyone in Hokkaido _has_ to be this time of year. No exceptions! Trust me, you will thank me later."

Seeing as the driver is determined to get the blonde and himself into more snow, the blunette begrudgingly opens the car door while muttering under his breath. The blonde makes to follow him before the blunette turns to him sharply.

"Pay the man. I paid last time."

Glaring daggers into the blunette's fifth and sixth vertebrae, the blonde pulls out his wallet before turning to the driver. He offers his best smile to both be friendly and to apologize for the blunette's rudeness.

"How much is the fare, sir?"

"Don't worry about it, kid. The way I look at it, seeing the festival on such a beautiful night will do the both of you some good."

The blonde smiles wider and bows his head appreciatively. He thanks the driver before exiting the car. All the while, the driver's eyes watch him leave and rejoin the arrogant boy with blue hair.

"Poor boy needs all the help he can get."

Both boys turn and watch the taxi pull away. They look almost abandoned.

"I feel like a stray dog."

They feel abandoned, too.

"Come on. Let's just try to enjoy the festival like the man said. Or at the very least, find a vendor selling hot chocolate."

The snow crunches under the blonde's boots as he follows the crowd to the music. The blunette pouts before pulling his jacket tighter around himself while trying to keep up with the blonde. The smell of the blonde's cologne invades his nostrils again. He doesn't exactly mind though. It doesn't smell bad.

"Oh my… Goodness."

The blunette spots a head of blonde hair and stops next to his companion. His eyes travel from the blonde's astonished face to the spectacle in front of them. Large mansion-like houses, snowmen, historical figures and other characters are scattered about the area. Lights of many colors are shining onto the displays bathing the whole festival in a rainbow glow. There seems to be thousands of people moving all around in an excited crowd.

"Big deal. It's just a bunch of statues."

At that moment, a little boy and what looks to be his younger sister hurry past the pair while talking excitedly.

"No way, daddy said that?"

"Yup! Everything is made out of snow! 100%! That's what he said, and daddy is always right."

It takes a second for the blunette to register what he has just heard. When he finally does, his face almost splits in two with how quickly it matches the blonde's.

"No way! This is all snow?"

"It's… beautiful."

Before the blunette has time to do a full circle of the area, the blonde has shot off in one direction towards some giant snow penguins.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

For over an hour, the pair explored as much as they could with the massive number of people present in the area. Obviously, the taxi driver was not kidding. The two ran into so many people from all over Japan and even some from other countries. One might wonder how anyone could stand to be outside in freezing weather surrounded by ice. With the exciting atmosphere and beautiful snow sculptures, however, the cold was easily forgotten. The blonde even forgot about his hot chocolate.

After being on their feet since arriving to the festival, the blunette starts to complain about his stomach.

"I'm hungry. I'm so hungry. I'm starving. My stomach is eating itself, but since my stomach is empty, it's not satisfied with itself…"

The blonde turns away from the captivating sculpture of the royal palace. Usually, he would scold the blunette for being whiney or a fatty. However, the entirety of the festival, the blunette has actually been… fun to be around. He is still as arrogant and obnoxious as ever, but once you get used to his humor he's not so bad. Not that the blonde would tell him this to his face.

The blunette has earned himself a snack anyway.

"Alright, I saw a crepe stand a while back. Want to go there?"

The blunette grins as bright as the sun and nods vigorously. Before long, the pair are sitting on a bench (thankfully _not_ made of ice) and are happily eating away at their own crepes. They are also animatedly watching the crowd passing by the small crepe stand.

"Okay, my turn!" The blunette swallows the bite in his mouth before speaking again. "I spy something… green."

The blonde swallows quickly while gesturing straight ahead.

"That guy's hat."

"What? How did you find it so quickly?"

"I noticed it too."

The blunette takes another bite out of his crepe.

"Your turn."

The blonde looks around slowly before his blue eyes lock onto something.

"I spy something striped."

The blunette straightens his posture as he tries to see over and through the crowd.

"This should be easy… um… That lady's sweater."

"Nope."

"No? Well then… That girl's socks."

"Uh-uh."

The blunette scratches at his head in frustration.

"Really? What else is striped?"

The blonde brings his head closer to the blunette's so that there eyes are at the same level. He then points slightly to his right.

"Do you see that guy with the silver jacket?"

The blunette strains for a second before…

"Uh-huh."

"Him and his boyfriend are wearing one plain glove and one striped each."

The blunette nods. Then, realizing what he just heard, he looks at the blonde incredulously.

"Hold on. Boyfriend? You can tell just by looking at them?"

"Would you share two sets of gloves with any of your guy friends?"

The blonde continues to eat his crepe and watch the crowd while leaving the blunette to think about what he said.

"… I guess not. But even if you are dating, why do something so weird like wearing two different gloves?"

"It's cute." The blonde finishes his last bite and crumples the wrapper quickly. "Say you have green gloves and your lover has purple. Then you give your left green glove to them and they gave their left purple glove to you. When you hold hands, those hands would be a matching pair."

The blunette ponders this as he also finishes his crepe. He crumples the wrapper rather noisily and tosses it into the bin next to him.

"I guess, when you put it that way, it is kind of cute."

After a short moment of sitting in silence, the blonde hops onto his feet. He takes a few steps forward before turning to face the blunette. He raises his hand holding the crumpled up wrapper and sends it soaring through the air. The blunette follows it overhead as it lands smoothly into the trash bin on his right. Slightly stunned, the blunette looks back to the blonde who seems very pleased with himself.

… Big deal. The blunette could have done that… If he really wanted to.

"Come on!" The blonde snatches the blunette's hand eagerly. "I want to look around some more!"

The pair move quickly through the crowd, only slowing down slightly whenever an interesting sculpture caught their eye. However, thanks to the blonde (and possibly his recent consumption of sugar) the pair never actually stop moving. The blonde is still too excited, and he has the blunette's hand in a death grip.

Eventually, something magnificent captures the blonde's interest. A house. Or more like a mansion. Obviously, this too is made of snow and ice. However, it is the sheer size of the sculpture that has the blonde's jaw hitting the ground.

"Let's go in there."

Before actually receiving a confirmation, the blonde is hauling the blunette behind him to a line a people waiting to enter the ice mansion. Only then does he let the blunette have his hand back. A small wave of sadness suddenly washes over the blonde. It couldn't be from letting go of the blunette's hand. No, it was probably from having to stand in line.

A short wait later, the pair are walking through the ice mansion along with a dozen other people. The sight is breathtaking. Every piece of furniture, doorway, silverware and artwork were all made of snow and ice. The blonde and blunette had fun exploring the different rooms and pretending to be western aristocrats. They received strange looks from the older patrons, but they simply ignored them. They were having too much fun goofing off to really notice the stares, or the fact that they were getting along.

"I say, would you like to venture to the chambers of the west wing?"

The blunette gestures to a hallway leading away from the rest of the crowd.

"My good man, you seem to have mistaken the east and the west again."

"Who cares! As long as the servants' quarters are in one and my chambers are in the other!"

The two break into another fit of laughter as they hurriedly trot down the hallway. The blonde makes a quick left into a random doorway and stops. This room definitely stands out from any of the others the pair have seen. The ice seems to have been made from colored water so the entire room is decorated in different hues and patterns. The blonde slowly makes his way to a vanity where all of the "perfume bottles" are shining in different colors. Suddenly getting an idea, the blonde pulls out his cell phone.

"I should send some pictures to my mom. She'll love to see this."

The blunette turns from the ice window he has been looking through. He pleasantly watches the blonde snap pictures of the vanity, princess style bed and the armoire. His blue eyes are beaming and a small smile forms every time he hits 'send.'

"You and your mom are really close, huh?"

The blonde smiles shyly when he pictures how he must look running around the room like a kid.

"I'm close to my dad, too. But I rarely see my mom. She lives in the States."

The blunette nods in comprehension and turns back to look at the crowd through the ice window.

"What about you?"

The blunette turns to see the blonde has moved to his side and is also looking out the window.

"Are you close to your parents?"

Dark eyes shift to the floor and then back out the window.

"I was."

"You were?"

The blunette shrugs his shoulders lightly still looking out of the window.

"My father was an archeologist. He was researching a cave with a team outside a village in Tibet. There was a landslide, and they never found him... I was in high school."

The blonde's breathing stops short. For a moment he thinks that the blunette is playing a prank, but the look on his face says he is completely serious.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that. What about your mother?"

"We were alright for a while after that. But then my mom met someone knew. He must have really swept her off her feet cause they got married and started a new family. I haven't heard from her since."

A pain was forcing its way from the blonde's heart to his eyes. He couldn't imagine a parent abandoning their child that way, especially a mother. He shut his eyes tightly to force down the tears before looking to the blunette. What should he say?

"I'm so sorry."

The blunette continues to look through the window and shrugs once again.

"What can you do, right?"

Although his voice sounded lighthearted, the blonde could tell by the look on the blunette's face that the subject still pains him. One does not simply get over losing both of their parents, even after so many years.

"We should leave. It's getting late, and the hot springs are sounding really nice right about now."

The blonde nods softly but can't bring himself to look at the blunette as he brushes past him. Only when the tall boy reaches the doorway does the blonde dare look at his retreating form.

Maybe he has got this guy all wrong.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The blunette did not like this at all.

The entire ride back to the onsen the blonde had not said one rude thing. No harsh comments. No insults. No sarcastic remarks, snarky comebacks, witty jabs, nothing. The blonde has been absolutely civil the entire time and it is driving the blunette _insane._

The blunette is sure that if he plays his cards right, he should get the blonde to berate him even just a little bit.

"I can't wait to jump into that nice hot spring."

"Me too."

… Okay.

"I wonder if the food has been set out by now. I'm starving!"

"It probably won't be ready until later."

That does it, time for the big guns.

"I shouldn't eat too much though. I might ruin my perfect figure."

"I'm sure you can enjoy yourself for tonight."

Alright, something is definitely wrong. The blunette legitimately set himself up to be insulted and the blonde just didn't take it. As long as the blunette has known him the blonde never missed an opportunity to insult him. What could have happened to make him this way…

By now, the taxi has pulled up to the front of the onsen. The blunette quickly makes his way to the room, mostly so he can start to preoccupy himself with getting ready for the hot springs and dinner. The blonde, however, still seems to be walking on eggshells and does not say anything about the blunette leaving him in the lobby of the inn. Even upon entering the room, the blonde fails to mention that the blunette has scattered his belongings messily about the sleeping area.

It appears to the blonde that the blunette is searching through his luggage to arrange his toiletries for the evening, but he is actually fumbling around aimlessly. The blunette has already begun to rack his brain to pinpoint exactly when the blonde decided to stop berating him. On the way to the city, everything was fine. Then the blonde bought his jacket. He was still hostile then, too.

"Excuse me."

Both of the room's occupants jump at the sound of a female voice. One of the inn caretakers has appeared outside of the door.

"Dinner will be served in about 2 hours if you would like to go to the hot springs until then."

"Uh, y-yes. Thank you."

The two can hear the woman shuffle quietly away from the door and down the hall.

"I guess we won't be eating yet, so we might as well check out the baths."

The blunette doesn't respond. He is just observing the blonde as he picks up the cotton robes provided by the inn and extends one to the blunette. Dark eyes send a hard stare straight into the blonde's blue ones.

"What has gotten into you?"

The blonde jumps slightly at the harsh tone.

"What… do you mean?"

"You're suddenly acting all… friendly. Why?"

The blonde decides not to answer. He doesn't actually know _how_ to answer. He fiddles with the cotton robes in his hands while avoiding the blunette's eyes. A tense moment passes before the taller of the two lets out a sigh. He takes one of the robes from the blonde and slings it over his shoulder.

"Let's just go to the bath."

He doesn't receive an answer, but he catches a very audible gulp.

Nothing is said between the two through the entire process of bathing. The blonde is mainly trying to avoid the blunette while said blunette is trying to remember the events that led up to the blonde's strange behavior.

After the blonde bought his new jacket, the taxi driver took the to the Snow Festival. Then they got excited like kids in a candy store and took off. Nothing happened then, either. They stopped for crepes and talked for a bit. It was a civil conversation, but not awkwardly civil. Then they went into the ice mansion and then that one room… And then the blonde asked him about his parents.

That couldn't have been it. Could it?

Well, considering the fact that the blonde is the poster child for sheltered and coddled children a sap story like the blunette's could have affected him. Almost everyone the blunette has told about his parents had started treating him differently. All except for his friends… and her.

The blunette shakes his head quickly. Now is not the time or place to think about her. Right now the blunette needs to reassure the blonde that he is perfectly fine! Well, not perfectly fine. Well, as fine as someone can be after losing both of his parents. Confidently, the blunette turns to where the blonde is currently bathing himself, ready to settle everything. But then he stops.

Never has he cursed Japanese style bathing like he is now. Hot spring rules state that all patrons to the springs must wash and rinse outside of the baths before entering. The pair is currently washing stark naked in open air, granted they were facing away from each other. Now the blunette's eyes were cascading over the blonde's pale back. Much like how the water was rinsing off the suds running down his thin form…

The blunette desperately grabs a small tub of cold water and quickly douses himself. There is no way this was happening. The blunette refuses to talk to the blonde until all personal areas were submerged in water.

The blonde jumps out of his thoughts as a sudden splash of cold water hits his back. He turns around to find the source and stops as he sees the blunette bopping himself repeatedly on the forehead with the plastic tub.

"I'll head to the hot spring first, okay?"

The blunette stiffens at the blonde's voice.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be there in a bit."

The blonde grabs a clean towel and heads through the doorway to their private open-air bath. He takes a minute to let the cool air wash over him and enjoy the scenery. The bath itself is surrounded by rock and foliage. The far wall is against a bamboo wall fence and overlooks the countryside and Sapporo in the distance.

Not wanting to catch pneumonia, the blonde quickly hops into the water slides in up to his neck. The heat of the steam is visible in the frosty air. He soaks his small towel in the water and lays it over his face. He can't remember the last time he went on a relaxing getaway like this. The last time was probably that trip to the Los Angeles with… Michael.

The blonde is relieved that the towel is covering his eyes.

A disturbance in the water catches his attention. He pulls off the towel to see the blunette get into the bath hastily.

"Cold, cold, cold!… ahhhhh."

The blonde giggles as the other boy slips completely under the water. He returns the towel to his face and rests his head against the rock wall. The blunette takes in a lungful of air as his head breaks through the surface. His eyes fall on his travel partner reminding him of what he has to do.

"Hey… you."

The blonde decides to keep the towel on his face as an excuse to avoid awkward eye contact. He just can't seem to gain the nerve to treat this person like how he used to. He has deduced it as a mixture of pity and guilt. The water ripples as the blunette moves to sit next to the blonde.

"About what we talked about earlier."

The pair jump as a loud explosion interrupts the blunette. The water illuminates in a bright red and then a deep green. The towel slips from the blonde's face as he jerks around to face the countryside. The blunette quickly joins him.

Above the city of Sapporo, a colorful array of fireworks are being launched. This was probably because of the Snow Festival coming to an end. Even from their distance, the two could hear the cheers from the crowd in the city.

One after another, the fireworks bathe the hot spring in an array of light. The blonde's mouth forms into a permanent smile of excitement and awe while the blunette voices his amazement in the form of cheers and shouts. The previous conversation is forgotten as the tense atmosphere that has been following the pair since the festival slowly diminishes.

After a particularly large explosion, the blunette turns to the blonde in astonishment.

"Did you see that?"

The blonde turns to his companion while laughing and nodding happily. He turns back to the fireworks show but the blunette is still looking at the blonde. His smile falters for a moment as he makes up his mind.

"You don't have to feel sorry for me, alright?"

The blonde is confused for a moment before he realizes what the blunette is talking about. He gains enough courage to meet the blunette's eyes. He catches his breath when he sees the fireworks reflecting off the surface of the dark orbs.

"I've had enough pity growing up, so I don't need anymore. You being mean to me… It's nice. Uh, well. Not 'nice' really, but you get the point…"

The blunette looks away slightly embarrassed. The blonde can see a hint of red on his cheeks, and he's pretty sure it's not from the fireworks. He giggles slightly and nudges the blunette's shoulder.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed."

"Shut up."

Another giggle from the blonde and the pair return to the display before them, the blunette a little more quiet, and the both of them relieved. A couple minutes of watching passes and the blonde's eyes suddenly fall on the blunette once again. He does not miss how the light from the fireworks reflects off of the water droplets sitting on the other's tan skin. It is a mesmerizing sight indeed. A thought strikes the blonde.

"Hey, promise me something."

The blunette turns to meet the other's gaze as the hot spring is bathed in a blue light.

"Promise me that… you'll take me out everyday and that we'll have fun."

A confused look crosses the blunette's face before a knowing smirk appears. He coolly sticks out his right pinky.

The blonde is taken aback for a moment before he smiles brightly and latches onto the blunette's pinky with his own. The blunette gives a hearty shake for good measure.

"You got it."

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

* around 200 USD

_Next Chapter: Look out Hokkaido, a promise is being kept._

_please give me a little time T^T_


	5. A Vespa and Gravure

_OMG it's here! If anyone is still reading this (and was waiting for an update) very sorry for the loong wait T^T_

_I'm trying really hard! Honest! *no one cares*_

_anyway..._

_**Disclaimer: Chapter 1**  
><em>

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The dark night did not deter the excitement of Sapporo's Susukino district. The area, being famous for it's beer, seemed to awaken at night and sleep during the day. The crowd is full of young people looking for a good time. The blonde and blunette are no different. The blunette is taking the lead in maneuvering through the people while the blonde tails behind snacking on a bag of madeleines. Much like how earlier he was munching on taiyaki, and then after that he bought an éclair, but that was before he found a bakery selling macarons.

"Are you Martha Stewart? You have to sample everything?"

The blonde glares a hole into the back of the blunette's jacket. He has grown used to the other's abrasive attitude, but every once in a while something he says will still irritate him. Nevertheless, the blonde brushes it off and continues to munch on his cookies.

That day had been an interesting one. The blunette was definitely keeping his promise. After leaving the onsen they checked their luggage into a public locker that morning. It is now nighttime and they are searching for a club which they heard was a hot spot.

Since early that morning, the pair has been checking out anything and everything that has sparked their interest. The blunette had spotted a thrill ride that lifts its passengers high over the city and then drops them. He had to nearly force the blonde to ride it with him. The blonde loved it so much they rode it a second time. For lunch they went to Ramen Alley. Sapporo is also famous in Japan for its ramen so there is an entire alleyway lined with shops selling it. The pair find the liveliest and loudest shop to eat at. It is filled with locals and they end up staying there for two hours talking to everyone. That is how they found out about this nightclub. After they finished eating, they stopped by a couple shops to pick up some new clothes for that night. They thought it would help them get into the mood. The blonde even convinced the blunette to sport a pair of fashion glasses.

Eventually, the blunette finds the club. The sign is small for such a popular place and the entrance is tucked away at the side of the building. They are allowed in after a quick check to see they are not hiding any weapons. As soon as the bouncer opens the door their ears are bombarded with a heavy bass. The atmosphere of dim lights and loud music takes a bit of adjusting, but the blonde takes no time to find the lounge.

"Let's grab a couple drinks!" He has to shout over the music directly into the blunette's ear to be heard.

The blunette nods distractedly. Drinks sound good, but later he is definitely finding a cute girl to dance with. He follows the blonde to the bar while scanning the room for any potential dance partners. He makes eye contact with a few and flashes a couple of his killer smiles. The blonde doesn't seem to notice at all and orders a couple of midori sours to start off. Before long they each have a glass of the green liquid.

"Bottoms up!"

The first drinks are easily tossed back. It's not too long before the blunette and the blonde have consumed a few beverages each. They are now perfectly tipsy.

The music changes and the dance floor becomes a lot more crowded. The blunette thinks it is a good time to find that cutie he hasn't met yet. His eyes look through the crowd until they lock onto another pair belonging to a very attractive girl. He flashes her a smile and she starts making her way across the floor.

"Wanna dance?"

"With a pretty thing like you? Of course!"

The blunette leans over to inform his companion of where he'll be. He notices the blonde has received another mixed drink.

"Hey, I'll be on the dance floor."

"Okay!" The blonde smiles widely. There is a rosy tint to his cheeks from his alcohol consumption and he is dancing slightly to the music. The blunette shakes his head before letting himself be guided to the floor by his new dance partner.

They find a clearing in the sea of people and get right to it. The girl is clearly a partier and wastes no time getting friendly. She starts grinding up against the blunette who just goes with it. Seeing as she has no problem with getting touchy he lets his hands sit on her hips. Maybe he should learn her name.

They have been only dancing for a minute when sudden loud cheers from behind the blunette captures his attention. Without interrupting their dance, he cranes his neck around to try and get a glimpse of the commotion. He doesn't see much… except for a familiar blonde head.

"No way…"

He detaches himself from the stranger and tries to fight through the crowd. His dejected female companion does not notice his absence and stumbles when she tries to grind on nothing.

"Hey! What the hell?"

The blunette doesn't seem to hear her as he has just discovered what everyone has been watching. The blonde is in the center of an opening, blatantly tipsy, and dancing with everything and everyone. The blunette's jaw might have hit the floor if it wasn't so crowded. In the middle of dancing with a random guy, the blonde spots his travel companion in the crowd. He gives the stranger a quick peck on the cheek and leaves him in favor of the blunette.

"Hey you! Dance with me!"

"You are so drunk!"

The blonde takes hold of the blunette's hands and starts doing a weird twisting maneuver. It is at this time the blunette's abandoned girlfriend-for-the-evening catches up with him. He glances over at her when she reaches his side, but he does not give her much more than that. He continues to try and calm the blonde.

"Why don't we sit down?"

"Why don't we dance?"

The stranger was starting to lose her patience. She wasn't too happy with losing an attractive guy's attention to a crazy foreigner.

"Come on babe, _we_ were dancing!"

Once again her pleas fall on deaf ears as the blunette is focused only on the blonde. Said blonde has wiggled his way to the center of the clearing and is gyrating in a silly manner to the music. The blunette lets out a chuckle and runs a hand through his hair. What was he going to do with this kid?

The blonde, seeing the smile on the blunette's face, stops dancing. He slyly places a hand on his hip while the other extends a lone finger beckoning the blunette to him. By now some men in the crowd have taken to chanting 'Dance with him!' The blonde has become very popular in the last few minutes.

Not one to back down from peer pressure, the blunette joins the blonde in the center of the floor. He has completely forgotten about the cute girl he worked so hard to find. Said girl cannot believe she was just rejected by a guy for another guy in public. She stamps her foot angrily before pushing back through the people behind her.

The crowd surrounding the blonde has begun to dance again as the song changes. The blonde is still letting loose, dancing however he feels like. The blunette, seeing how confident the other has gotten, can't help but to try and embarrass him. He starts to perform the most popular dance moves he can think of… from the 80s. He is in the middle of the 'pendulum' when the blonde's voice reaches his ear.

"What are you doing? You look so lame!" There is a hint of amusement in his words.

Instead of answering, the blunette continues to embarrass the blonde. Some laughs can be heard from the crowd. By now the blonde has had enough. He suddenly gets an idea looking at the blunette's dorky glasses. A smirk appears on the blonde's features. He quickly grabs either side of the blunette's face causing him to stop all movement.

"You're dancing like a dork because you look like a dork!"

In one swift movement the blonde removes the glasses leaving the blunette confused. Then, also getting an idea, the blunette suddenly pretends to get electrocuted. The blonde is shocked for a moment. The blunette continues the act but then stops suddenly. He sends the blonde a seductive look before brushing a hand through his hair. The blonde watches as the blunette suddenly starts dancing like a playboy, popping his hips and flashing a smile at anyone that looks at him.

Finally, realizing the joke, the blonde laughs in amusement. When the blunette least expects it, the blonde returns the glasses to his face. Once again the blunette pretends to be electrocuted and stops. Acting confused, he begins to dance self-consciously. The blonde is laughing freely and clutching his abdomen. He hardly even notices when the blunette places the glasses on his own face.

Pulling the same stunt as the blunette, the blonde pretends to be struck by lightning and starts to dance in an awkwardly cute manner while smiling goofily. The blunette makes a face and shakes his head. He quickly removes the glasses again and jumps back when the blonde strikes a pose.

Arm straight in the air, the blonde meets the blunette's eyes before slowly bringing his hand down his body. He wiggles sensually while taking a few steps closer. The blunette can see that he has captured the attention of a few other men and can't help but to laugh. The blonde reaches the blunette in no time and places a hand lightly on his shoulder. He circles the still laughing blunette while dragging his hand across his body. When it reaches his other shoulder, he takes hold of his chin and then shoves it away lightly. The blunette watches stunned as he comes around to his front side. He does a strange gyrating backwards bend as the music picks up. He continues to bend backwards until his hands touch the floor behind him.

The crowd goes crazy for the equally crazy blonde and cheers loudly. The blunette also can't hide his amazement and cheers while pumping his fist in the air.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

Outside of the club, the two run out in a euphoric rush. They aren't sure why they are running, but neither one wants to stop. Only when they reach a crosswalk signaling 'don't walk' do they slow to a stop… for a moment.

The blonde, like many times before, grabs onto the blunette's hand and sprints into the street.

"Hey! Wait!"

Lucky for the both of them it was 3am and the streets were clear of traffic. Still, the blunette had no idea where the blonde was taking him. He just seemed to shoot off into a direction down a smaller street.

"Where are we going?"

Without stopping, the blonde turns his head to look at the blunette. He simply smiles brightly and giggles before looking back at the road ahead. The blunette grins and laughs at the blonde.

He has no idea where he's going either.

They run far away from the nightclub. Even when the city is behind them they keep running. They run into a quiet suburban area. They continue running until they reach the top of a hill. Only then does the blonde break away from the blunette and fall behind.

"Hey… let's stop."

The blunette stops short and turns. The blonde is bent over and breathing heavy.

"I'm out of… breath."

The blunette chuckles ignoring that he too is breathing heavy. Placing both hands on the top of his head, the blunette turns his gaze to the sky. He momentarily forgets his fatigue when his eyes catch the stars. Many stars, more than what could be seen from Tokyo, were scattered across the cosmos.

"Wow…"

Hearing the astonishment in the blunette's voice, the blonde follows his gaze to the sky.

"Wow…"

Hearing shuffling, the blunette turns to the blonde only to find him lying flat on his back as if the pavement were his own bed.

"What? You're going to lay down right here?"

"Why not?"

The blunette chuckles for a second before he too takes a place on the street on the blonde's right. They share a smile before looking to the stars once again.

"Do you think we can see the same stars in Tokyo?"

The blunette thinks about this question for a moment.

"I guess not."

They both fall silent. It takes a while for the blunette to realize what the blonde was actually asking. Could _Michael _see the same stars in Tokyo now?… Could Hiromi?

"What happened to your girl? The one you're thinking about?"

A heavy pause follows the question, and the blonde glances at the blunette to make sure his question hasn't struck a nerve.

"It just… never worked out. A mutual agreement you could say."

The blonde nods softly before turning back to the stars.

"Better than breaking up on the phone, huh?"

The blunette almost replies. He wants to tell the blonde that having been in the relationship at all is better than nothing. However, he decides against it. He doesn't want the blonde to know that his "relationship" never actually existed in the first place.

"Have you ever listened to Ms. Ooja?"

Dark eyes squint in confusion.

"What's that?"

"Not 'that', 'who.' She's a singer. I think her lyrics are really deep."

When the blunette doesn't respond, the blonde takes it as a sign to continue.

"her lyrics say 'a girl doesn't like sports, but she will watch them with you to be by your side. She doesn't like make-up, but she will wear it to look good for you.'"

The blunette suddenly grunts. He grabs at his stomach and rolls onto his side.

"Ugh… Hold on."

"What is it?"

"It's so lame I'm gonna puke."

This earns the blunette a hard kick to his calf. He complains about the pain momentarily before returning to stargazing. By now a light flurry of fresh snow has begun to fall onto the pair. Once in a while they will blow some of the snowflakes around or try to catch them in their mouths. The blonde is suddenly reminded of something. He glances at the blunette who is now resembling a fish out of water.

"What would you do if you were in the snow and their was no one else around?"

The blunette stops chomping at the snow to ponder. He then turns onto his side and rests his head on his hand to talk directly to the blonde.

"Hmm… I would eat it! No wait… I would piss my name in it!"

The blunette grins widely as the blonde scrunches his nose and turns back to the falling snow.

"What about you?"

The blonde smiles softly.

"I want to take off all of my clothes. I want to see how cold winter can really be."

"Ooh, x-rated!"

They both laugh as the blunette returns to lying on his back. Silence sets in as the blonde's smile fades into a look of remorse.

"When I told Michael that, he said I was ridiculous."

The blunette could not miss the sadness in the blonde's voice. His smile also fades and he hesitates before turning to look at the blonde. A single tear makes it's way from the blonde's blue eye and trails down into his hairline. If it wasn't for the light of the moon, the blunette might have missed it.

A pale hand quickly comes up and wipes the tear away softly. The blonde meets the blunette's gaze and offers a sincere smile reassuring the blunette that he was okay. The blunette smiles in return and they both turn back to the sky to watch the stars and falling snow for a while longer.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

"What is that?"

That was not the reaction the blunette was hoping for.

The youth of the city seen crowding the streets the night before have probably just crawled into the bed. The working class, however, have woken early to catch the 7 o' clock train to the office. The blunette insisted that the pair pick up their luggage from the public locker as early as possible. He had a surprise for the blonde.

That surprise was a navy blue Vespa sitting in front of the train station.

All the blonde could do was stare. All the blunette could do was continue to gesture to the vehicle like a game show girl. The crowd walking in and out of the station were starting to take notice of the strange man next to a scooter.

"It's a scooter!"

"I can see that. Why is it here?"

"I rented it."

The blunette, still grinning widely, breaks from his pose and starts to take up his and the blonde's luggage.

"Again why?"

The blonde continues to watch the blunette as he struggles to fit the two suitcases onto the back of the Vespa.

"Well, last night we talked about what we want to do in the snow right?"

He grunts loudly as he fastens the last strap securely around the luggage. Patting the suitcases proudly, he turns to the blonde with his signature grin.

"I overheard the weather report this morning. It's still snowing up north."

The blonde answers with a questioning look before realization hits him. A small smile creeps onto his face as the blunette hands him a helmet.

An hour later the two are on highway 275 riding through the country. Traffic outside of the main city is minimal and the blonde has taken to enjoying the scenery while the blunette watches the road. Hands wrapped tightly around his waist, the blonde was talking excitedly at first, but due to difficulty through the helmets and over the wind they quietly agreed to enjoying the trip in silence. Only when something important comes to mind do they try their luck at communicating.

Feeling slightly tired, the blonde wonders if it would be okay to rest his head for a bit… It would only be for a little while. The blonde would just lay his head down for a minute or two and pop right back up. It should be fine. No big deal.

Instead of trying to ask the blunette's permission, the blonde gingerly lays his head between the blunette's shoulder blades. If the blunette was surprised by this, he doesn't show it. Still, the blonde tries to avoid laying his full weight on the blunette. Only for a moment…

The blunette grins to himself as he feels the weight on his back double confirming that the blonde was now fast asleep. Their night of drinking and antics until that morning have finally caught up to the poor guy.

Driving down the highway. Bare trees and light traces of snow. The low rumble of the scooter. The cold wind on his face contrasting with the warm arms around his midsection. And the blonde's soft, even breathing against his back. The blunette could get used to this.

The hand on his crotch, however, is new.

"Ah!"

In his driving hypnosis, the blunette failed to notice the blonde's right hand slowly losing grip. It had finally made its way to the blunette's crotch. In a state of shock, the blunette momentarily loses focus on the road. This is enough to send him swerving into the opposite lane and into oncoming traffic. Luckily, the blunette's reaction time is quick enough to replace the blonde's hand at his waist and return the scooter safely to their lane.

The blunette risks a backwards glance at the blonde who has remained undisturbed through the ordeal. Returning his eyes to the road, he let's out a heavy sigh.

How long to the nearest hotel?

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

Bathed in constant black light and the odd neon spotlight, the pair ride awkwardly up the elevator standing behind an elderly woman. She looked much too happy to be here.

About half an hour ago, the blunette decided it was a good idea to check into a hotel for the rest of the day and overnight. Seeing as the pair hadn't slept at all the night before, they weren't really up for continuing the sudden road trip just yet. Fortunately for them, they has just come across a small town littered with hotels.

Unfortunately for them, these hotels were of the "special" kind.

The door of the elevator slides open revealing a narrow hallway. Gravure photos cut out from magazines line the walls. Most of the pictures were of female models. The blunette could actually identify some of them. The blonde couldn't care less.

The elderly lady leads the two down the hall to the third door. She unlocks it and pushes it open easily. The two wait for the woman to continue, but she doesn't. She just stands by the door smiling. Seeing as the two young men do not enter, she gestures into the room eyeing them subtly. The blunette is the first to get the hint.

"Ah! No! Two rooms!"

The old lady seems hard of hearing and just continues to smile. The blunette tries a different approach.

"Two…"

He holds up two fingers…

"Rooms."

And finishes by making an invisible square with his index fingers. Suddenly, the old woman lets out a sound of understanding. She quickly shuffles down the hallway to retrieve something. The blonde and the blunette smile at each other in relief.

In a minute the old lady is back and has something in her hands. She extends her left hand to give the young men what they've asked for…

Two condoms.

"Ah! No!"

The blonde turns to the blunette to calm him down before he continues shouting.

"Let me handle this."

Turning back to the shorter woman, the blonde leans over so they are close to eye level. Thinking quickly, the blonde takes hold of two of the keys on her large key ring and shows them to her.

"Two rooms."

He then maneuvers the keys as if he is unlocking two doors at once. He finishes this by holding up two fingers.

"Two rooms."

The old lady makes another noise of understanding before shuffling down the hallway once more. The pair smile at each other in relief. In no time at all, the woman has returned with what she thinks the young men have asked for, and she can't wait to show them.

A pair of fuzzy handcuffs.

"Ah! No!"

The blunette is the one to calm the blonde down this time. He quickly pushes the smaller man into the room before giving the old lady a strange look.

"Never mind! We'll just take it."

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

"… This is nice."

The blunette nods awkwardly in response. He then glances down at his feet which are currently hanging of the bed.

"The bed is kind of short though."

The blonde also observes the bed. In order to avoid sleeping too close together, the pair thought it would be best to sleep sideways. However, now both of their feet were now exposed over the edge of the bed. Combine that with the strange sounds filling the hall and this situation was downright uncomfortable.

"You take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

The blonde looks to his companion uncertainly.

"Are you sure? I don't want to take advantage of you."

"It's cool."

With that the blunette grabs his pillow and plops it onto the floor. He leaves the blanket on the bed figuring the blonde may need it more. While they settle into their new positions, the blonde can hear the blunette mumbling something like 'Is it valentine's day? Seems like everyone wants to screw here.'

After getting comfortable, the blonde looks over at the figure on the floor. The blunette's back is facing him and he doesn't seem comfortable at all. Guilt washing away his fatigue, the blonde gives up on sleeping for the time being.

"How many girlfriends have you had?"

The blunette jumps slightly at the sudden question and turns over to look at the man on the bed.

"What?"

"How many girlfriends have you had?"

The blunette hesitates before thinking is over.

"Serious girlfriends or all together?"

"Serious ones."

Looking up to the ceiling, the blunette pretends to be in thought. Satisfied with his answer he looks at the blonde proudly.

"Three. You?"

"Two."

The blunette gets more comfortable by sliding a tan arm under his head.

"So Michael was only your second."

The blonde nods slightly before a reminiscing look crosses his face. He smiles slightly and lets out a small laugh.

"Actually, my first was nothing like him."

This peaks the blunette's interest.

"Was he fat? Nice? Punctual"

The blonde gives a shy smile from his position on the bed.

"It was a girl."

The blunette raises himself onto his elbows. He is genuinely shocked and it shows on his features.

"You're lying."

"I'm not! In my high school, there was an upperclassman who was crazy about me. She was nice so I gave it a shot."

"A shot at what?"

"At dating a girl."

"To what level?"

The blonde sends the other man a disgusted look.

"Pervert! Just dating."

The blunette laughs at the blonde's reaction. They fall into a comfortable silence before another thought comes to the blonde's mind.

"So what was your first girlfriend like?"

"Ah man!"

The blunette's sudden excitement promises a good story. In response, the blonde turns over to face him better.

"I wish I had a picture of her. She was beautiful! I felt so lucky that she was interested in me. I was wondering why such a pretty upperclassman was not taken yet but I didn't care too much back then. And then one day, we decided to go home together by taking the bus. Since it was early summer and the buses in my town were old there was no AC. Everyone had the windows down and the wind was blowing!"

The blunette sudden raises his right arm and gestures with his left hand to just under his ribcage.

"I swear this girl had armpit hair down to here! And it was flapping back and forth _flip flap flip flap flip flap_!"

The blonde grimaces in disgust while the blunette erupts into laughter.

"I broke up with her right there!"

Shaking his head, the blonde smiles and turns to the ceiling. The blunette's laughter is still dying down when another thought crosses his mind.

"So… you never did tell me about your most recent girlfriend. Why it didn't work out and all."

Dark eyes glance at the blonde before scanning the room for something else to look at. This wasn't something he wanted to talk about.

"… You won't judge me right?'

Hearing the uneasiness in the other's voice, the blonde because serious.

"Of course not."

It takes a minute for the blunette to find the right place to start. When he does, he takes a deep breath and begins.

"Everything was fine at first. I mean, we were happy. We fought sometimes but not too often. We were only dating for a few months when she told me…"

The blonde felt a knot in the pit of his stomach at what was next.

"She… She told me she was pregnant. I wasn't ready to be a father. I could barely take care of myself, how was I supposed to take care of a family? I told her to get an abortion."

Blue eyes grow wide as their owner slowly sits up in his bed. Shock was clearly plastered to his face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"But she refused! She wanted to keep it, so… So I pushed her down the stairs!"

The blunette covers his face with both hands as a sob forces it's way from his throat.

"I only wanted to abort the baby… But I killed them both! How am I supposed to live with myself now? The guilt… it's too much!"

Sobs fill the room as the blonde's teary eyes focus on the blanket covering his lap, not actually seeing. All this time… he had no idea…

Slowly, the sobs begin to change into something else. They become shorter, more frequent, and more… happy? The blonde looks over at the blunette just as he removes his hands from his face. He is met with the same old grinning blunette he has become familiar with. By now he is blatantly laughing.

"Ha ha ha! Shocked?"

The blonde swallows a lump in his throat as fresh tears continue to stain his face.

"… How could you?"

The blunette's laughter slowly subsides at the sound of the blonde's pained voice.

"How could you joke about something like that? My mother had three abortions before me."

It was the blunette's turn to sit up from his position on the floor. His grin was now completely gone and replaced by a look of shear dread and regret.

"I could have had brothers and sisters if it wasn't for my dad forcing her to get rid of them every time she got pregnant! She had to fight to keep me!"

The blonde breaks out into sobs as the blunette tries to find the right words to comfort him.

"H-hey, look… I'm really sorry. I didn't…"

At the sound of the blunette's voice, the blonde turns his tear streaked face to meet his. Then, slowly, the corners of his lips curl up until they form a pleased grin. Wiping his crocodile tears, the blonde starts into a fit of giggles.

"I got you!"

Realizing his stunt, the blunette closes his eyes and shakes his head. He turns his back to the blonde while trying to hide the amused smile on his face. All the while the blonde continues to laugh uncontrollably and falls back onto the sheets kicking his feet happily.

In the midst of all the erotic moaning and bed frames squeaking, the sound of the blonde's laughter was truly the strangest sound echoing through the love hotel that night.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

_Next Chapter: Casinos and snow do not mix_

_... until next time... however long that will me T_T_


	6. Gamble Your Problems Away

_Hopefully the wait between chapters this time was not **too** bad... I tried really hard to stay on top of the story this time around. This chapter ended up longer than the others haha I wanted to shovel a lot of events in. Hopefully it's not too much!_

_Anyway enjoy! Please review with your opinions or anything else :) I love love love getting stuff from you guys lol  
><em>

_**Disclaimer: Chapter 1**_

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The traveling companions had driven for a couple of hours since leaving the love hotel. They wanted to make good time so they only stopped once to go to the bathroom and stretch their legs. However, seeing as the blunette was the only one who knew how to drive the scooter, he couldn't just doze off on the road like the blonde could. He needed his rest to keep driving, and it would be dark in a couple more hours.

Both men agreed it was a good idea to stop at the next town and rest somewhere. The next town happened to be a casino town, probably one of the only ones in Japan. Everything in this town seemed to have been built around the casino. The casino's hotel rates were obviously too expensive for either the blonde or blunette. They decided to avoid that area all together.

Luckily, just outside of the casino area was a more traditional town. Driving from the downtown area to this village-like place was like driving through time. Here they came across an old-fashioned inn owned by an elderly couple. Seeing as most of the visitors who came to their town came for the casino, the inn did not see many guests. The couple was delighted to welcome the two young travelers into their establishment. In fact, they were so happy that the couple invited them to have dinner at the inn, free of charge.

And this is where the companions are now. The blunette is currently seated at the table across from the old man talking about politics and sports while the old woman has brought the blonde into the kitchen to teach him how to cook. The meal he is helping to prepare for their dinner is oden, a warm comfort food perfect for winter.

"Let me show you."

The old woman takes the fish cakes from the blonde and places them on the cutting board.

"It is better to cut the fish cakes in half. That way they soak up all the moisture and their flavor leaks into the broth."

The blonde watches closely as she places the cakes into the pot with the other ingredients.

"I see…"

He had grown up watching his mom and even his dad cooking meals for him, but has not once picked up a cooking utensil himself. Aiding the old woman in the kitchen and learning the basics of preparing a meal has proven to be enjoyable. He is definitely going to be spending more time in his kitchen when he returns home.

In the dining room, the blunette and the old man have come to an agreement that the Hanshin Tigers will be this year's leader in Japanese baseball and that the current Prime Minister might able to serve his full term. They are now sitting comfortably sipping their tea in silence. That is until the door to the kitchen swings open and a delicious smell overwhelms the room.

"Dinner is served!"

The old woman enters holding the main dish proudly while the blonde follows carrying a tray of sides. Everyone settles into their places immediately and the hostess begins serving out the oden. Once she is done the blunette is happily the first to try the soup. He doesn't even finish chewing before he speaks.

"Wow!… This is… amazing!"

The old woman gestures eagerly at the blonde.

"You have to tell him! He cooked it!"

The blonde immediately becomes embarrassed as the blunette eyes him suspiciously.

"I didn't really… I only helped a bit…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

The blonde's shy expression instantly turns into a glare, but the blunette has already turned back to his meal. The old couple across the table laugh happily at their young guests. The old woman is the first to regain her composure.

"You two fight like an old couple!"

The blunette and the blonde share a disgusted look before going back to their meals. Once the old man stops laughing he turns his attention to the blunette.

"You like oden?"

"Yes, sir! It's delicious!"

"Tell your boyfriend to cook."

Mouth full and eyes wide, the blunette can only stare at the old man confused. Seeing the blank stare on the young man's face, the elder tries to clarify by gesturing to the blonde.

"Tell your _boyfriend_ to cook."

Both the blunette and the blonde nearly choke on their food when they realize who the 'boyfriend' is. They both struggle to swallow their mouthfuls before shouting simultaneously:

"He's not my boyfriend!"

The old couple is not having this. They start to argue with the younger pair about how they are obviously together and that they can't hide it or how they shouldn't be ashamed. To emphasize their point, the old woman throws in a couple of lewd hand gestures. Although the blonde has gone quiet from shock, the blunette continues to defend himself.

"You must be lying!"

"No I not! We're not dating!"

"Come on, the chemistry between you two! You must be screwing!"

"Shit! Put your hands down! What's wrong with you?!"

As the three continue to argue, the blonde's gaze falls onto the blunette. He continues to hopelessly argue with the old couple who continue to point fingers and laugh at him. Who could blame them? He looked absolutely frazzled.

The blonde thought it was cute.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

"That lady has problems… In fact, every old lady we have met here has problems! Why are all the old ladies in Hokkaido so perverted?"

The blonde only shakes his head as he situates his futon. The blunette is also setting up his sleeping arrangements but in his own, messier way. Once he is satisfied with his half-assed job, he lays down heavily and forces his eyes shut. By now the blonde is also under his covers, sitting up and eyeing the other. Although he is trying to sleep, the blunette is clenching his face up tightly. There is no way he could sleep like that.

"Are you pooping under there?"

The blunette glares at the blonde but the blonde just shrugs it off. Still annoyed from earlier, the blunette turns over so he is facing away from the other occupant and tries to sleep. That woman would just not let their 'relationship' go! She and her husband are completely convinced that the two young men are together.

Which is why they shoved them into the same room.

"We always seem to end up sleeping together, too!"

The blonde merely smiles as the blunette continues to complain loudly. He is mostly going on about how unfair their sleeping arrangements have been, as if the gods themselves wanted them to always be in close proximity.

"When I planned this trio I was hoping to share a room with…"

Blue eyes stare intently at the blunette's back. Instead of picking up where he left off, the blunette simply settles deeper into his futon. He is still tense and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who he was referring to.

"So what happened?"

"What do you mean what happened? You were there! The crazy old bat thinks we're screwing like rabbits and-"

"Not that! I mean what happened with your girl."

The blunette turns over just enough to where the blonde can see a solitary eye.

"You want to know now?"

The blonde merely shrugs.

"I've asked you before, but you've never given me a serious answer."

When the blunette just keeps staring the blonde continues.

"Plus, you basically know every detail about my break-up with Michael so it's only fair."

The blunette stares at the blonde for a few more seconds before turning away from the blonde once again. The blonde sits back abruptly and glares at the blunette. Then an idea comes to mind.

"Well, if you don't want to talk to me, maybe you will talk to Aina and Yumachi. They might be able to help."

"Huh?"

The blonde quickly whips out his cell phone and starts pushing at the buttons quickly. Once the blunette hears what he is doing, he quickly sits up and rolls over. He vaguely remembers Aina and Yumachi being the two radio talk show hosts who solve love problems. Was he really going to call them?

His question is answered when the blonde places the phone to his ear and listens.

"It's ringing!"

The blonde quickly shoves the phone to the blunette. Startled, the blunette jumps back as if the phone were a bomb.

"Hurry up! It's a long distance call!"

Once again the blonde shoves the phone at the blunette. And once again the blunette refuses.

"Now!"

The blonde's small hand grabs at the blunette's larger one and forces the phone into it. Seeing as he has no more energy to fight back, as well as the blonde staring earnestly at him, the blunette reluctantly places the phone to his ear.

"H-hello?"

"_Helloooooooo._ What is your name?"

It takes a moment for the blunette to realize that the voice he is hearing is not coming from the phone in his hand, but rather from the person sitting to his immediate right.

He turns slightly to see the blonde smiley sweetly while holding his hand to his ear like a phone. The blunette is speechless. He can only chuckle at the blonde's antics. The blonde continues to talk in a sickly sweet voice.

"Mr. Fido is it?"

The blonde felt Fido was a good name. Traditional American name given to pet dogs, the Japanese blunette wouldn't know any better.

"How can Aina and Yumachi help you today?"

"What are you doing weirdo?"

The blunette continues to chuckle as the blonde continues his act unfazed.

"Please speak up for our listeners. You are now on air… Hello? Are you still there?… Hello? Please turn down your radio and listen only through your phone… Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yeah yeah!"

The blonde smiles at the irritated response. At least he is playing along.

"Well… There was this girl that I knew for a few months. I liked her, but she has found someone else."

The blunette looks to the blonde half irritated and half hopeful.

"So what can you two do to help me?"

"Hmmm. Well, maybe we could, if you would stop being a pain in the ass."

This earns the blonde a chuckle before he continues.

"Did she say why she dumped you for this other person?"

The blunette hesitates. He looks down in thought of how he should phrase this.

"Well… she didn't dump me… We were never going out."

The blonde nods in comprehension. Although he is trying to keep up his act of the super polite talk show hosts, he can't hide the small amount of surprise painted on his face.

"I see… Did she know you had feelings for her? Did you not want to commit to one girl?"

"This has nothing to do with commitment! People get together and break up all the time! I wasn't planning to take the next step with her. Hanging out like we were was enough."

Big blue eyes blink in surprise at the blunette's angry tone. He lets the words sink in before his smile returns to his face.

"First off, you shouldn't get upset with Aina and Yumachi, because you frighten us."

This brings the smile back to the blunette's features.

"So, who are you? Aina or Yumachi?"

The blonde scowls quickly before continuing like the blunette hadn't said anything.

"_Soooooo_ what is the point of this problem?"

The blunette becomes tense and looks away, deep in thought. Even so, he continues to hold the phone to his ear and eventually speaks up.

"A guy like me in a relationship? I've tried it before. How can I take care of someone else when I can't take care of myself. I can't even wipe my ass clean."

"Ewwwwwwwww!"

The blunette glares harshly at the blonde. He turns away angrily as the blonde composes himself.

"Uh, Mr. Fido. You were the one who decided not to enter a relationship with this girl, right? So why are you so heartbroken?"

"… 'Cause I can be…"

A sly smile creeps onto the blonde's face and he waggles a single finger teasingly.

"'_Cause you can be?_ Now, now. Mr. Fido, we are not in kindergarten anymore."

The blunette scoffs silently before removing the phone from his ear grumpily. The blonde waits for a moment but the blunette remains silent.

"Hmm. No answer. So we will leave it up to our listeners. Please send us your predictions for the future. Either Mr. Fido will get the courage to ask this girl out, or he will try to see this girl at home and be abused by her mother-"

"Okay! That's enough! I'm not playing anymore!"

The blonde's mood plummets as the blunette angrily tosses his phone onto his futon. Before he can say anything, the blunette lays back down and turns his back to the other.

"They can't help me…"

"Because you just didn't come out and tell them your problem. They aren't psychics you know."

The blonde starts to situate himself into his own futon. When the blunette doesn't respond, he continues.

"Besides, you said yourself you don't want to date this girl. It was your decision. You can't expect her to wait around for you forever. Why don't you just leave it at that?"

"I can't."

The rustling of the futon stops letting the blunette know that he has caught the other's attention.

"I still haven't told her that now… I want to be with her."

"REALLY?"

The blunette jumps slightly at the excited response. He turns over to see the blonde crawling to him eagerly.

"… So where is Aina and Yumachi?"

It takes the blonde a second to get that the blunette is once again playing their game. He quickly grabs his phone and brings it to his ear.

"Ah! Mr. Fido. So you are going to ask her out after all? Does that mean you can now wipe your ass clean?"

"I don't know… But I'll try."

The blonde squeals cutely and removes the phone from his ear.

"You can be such a romantic!"

The blunette blushes slightly before smiling at the blonde.

"Being romantic won't help now though. She is already with that other guy. She's may be head-over-heels for him already."

"Then there is no time to waste!"

An idea pops into the blonde's head and he starts rummaging through his travel bag. It takes him a minute before he finds what he is looking for. A postcard.

"You see this? I snagged it from the onsen you took me to when we first came here."

The blunette sits up intently and eyes the postcard. The blonde holds it out for him to take.

"You have to try. Tell her before it's too late."

The blunette takes the postcard and looks it over. A small smile forms on his face which the blonde mimics.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

The early morning air feels crisp and there is a slight fog. Most of the town is still sleeping. The blunette and the blonde seem to be the only two people on this street. This is also the only street with a public mailbox.

The blunette turns to the blonde and nods. The blonde returns the nod and faces away from him. The blunette takes this time to write his name on the postcard. That was the only thing missing. He eyes the postcard one last time making sure everything was spelled correctly and such. His eyes skim over the brief message one last time.

'I love you.'

Taking in a deep breath, the blunette opens the mailbox and drops the postcard inside. At the sound of the mailbox hatch closing, the blonde turns back to his companion.

They share a smile of accomplishment before turning and heading down the street.

The only thing left to do is wait.

In the mean time, the pair set off to explore the city. The old couple has agreed to let them keep their luggage at the inn until they are ready to leave the town. By then, the wife has promised to have a hearty meal packed for their trip.

The blunette looks down to the blonde at his side.

"What should we do first?"

'-.*.-'

"What about this?"

The blunette holds up a very traditional kokeshi doll to show the blonde. The shorter man looks over the souvenir before addressing the blunette.

"You're going to buy a Japanese souvenir for your Japanese friend?"

The smile disappears from the blunette's face and he returns the doll to the shelf.

Seeing as the two have yet to buy anything for friends back home, they decided to stop at a small gift shop. The blunette is having a hard time finding something unique to Hokkaido that his friends might not already have. The blonde, however, already has a couple of items in hand. The blunette nods to his handful irritably.

"And what about you? Who are those for?"

"My mother lives in America and I haven't sent her anything. And my dad will be upset if I send her something and not him, even though he lives in Japan."

The blonde turns happily to the store keeper who has been helping them. He hands her the items and reaches into his wallet to pull out his credit card. When he does, the blunette is shocked. Not only is it pink, but there is a photo printed on the front.

A photo of the blonde hugging Michael tightly.

It's a sickening sight.

"Wow, he's haunting you this far…"

"When we go back to Tokyo, I'll get it changed."

Once the blonde has paid for his purchases the two exit the store. The blonde is excited to send his gift to his mom in America. He goes on and on about how he hasn't seen her in years, and about how he was supposed to see her last year, but her job sent her to Istanbul for research. The blonde is so distracted that he isn't watching where he is going and suddenly runs into someone.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!"

The stranger is about to apologize as well when he looks up at locks eyes with the blonde. Blue eyes widen in surprise and the blonde gasps.

"Rei?"

The blunette watches as the blonde pulls the raven-haired man into a tight hug and they start talking animatedly. Well, the blonde is talking animatedly. This other guy seems a little more mild-mannered. They have both switched to English leaving the blunette out of the conversation.

"_What are you doing here?_"

"_Well, I'm… I'm getting married_."

"_WHAT_?"

The blunette flinches at the outburst but remains quiet. These two seem to be old friends. However, telling from the other guy's appearance and the fact that he is only speaking English, he isn't Japanese.

"_I thought it wasn't legal in Japan. At least not yet_."

"_It's not. We actually got married in Sweden, but we want to hold a second ceremony here in Hokkaido for our friends and family_."

Rei's eyes widen suddenly and he smiles brightly.

"_You should come to the ceremony! It's right here at this casino, tonight!_"

Golden eyes suddenly fall onto the blunette whom he has not been introduced to. The blonde follows his gaze and realizes how awkward this must be for the blunette.

"_Oh! Um… this is… Fido_."

Turning to the blunette, the blonde gives him a look telling him to play along with his new name.

"Fido, this is my friend from China, Rei."

Having been introduced, the now acquainted men smile and shake hands politely. After exchanging some quick formalities, Rei turns back to the blonde.

"_Meeting you here after all this time is a sign that you have to come to the wedding, Ma_-"

"_Ah! But we couldn't impose!_"

That was a close one. Rei almost gave away the blonde's name. Blue eyes meet confused golden ones as the blonde tries to act natural.

"_I'll explain later_."

The two continue their conversation in a relaxed manner.

"_Would it really be alright to attend your wedding?_"

"_Of course! I invited you!_"

Rei turns to the blunette and smiles warmly.

"And you are welcome to attend as well!"

Rei gives the pair the necessary information for the wedding ceremony. Once he is done, he hurries off toward the casino to prepare for the ceremony. After he leaves the pair head to their next destination: a clothing store. Seeing as they are going to attend a wedding that night, they need formal clothing.

On the way to the store, the blonde translates their conversation for the blunette. He also tells the blunette all about how he met Rei in Hong Kong. The blonde just happened to be eating at a restaurant where Rei was working and they became good friends. They decided to keep in touch even after the blonde returned to Japan. However, their lives became too busy to keep writing each other, so they eventually stopped contacting each other all together.

The last the blonde heard of him, he was in a relationship with a Russian man and he was very happy.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

When Rei said that the wedding was that night, he should have mentioned that the _second part_ of the wedding was that night. Apparently, the wedding started the day before and is now being picked back up for another round. Rei tried to explain that Russian weddings are celebrated for two days, but he himself seemed kind of overwhelmed with all of the partying.

For the wedding, one of the stylish ballrooms of the casino has been rented out. Since the invited guests are only the two grooms' close friends and families, the number of guests are small. Currently, everyone has taken a break from dancing and drinking in favor of watching the two grooms.

Rei's new husband, the blunette concludes, is a very no non-sense kind of guy. He is straight-faced through most of the ceremony unless one of his rowdier friends makes a joke or if Rei does something he finds cute. The blonde has told him that his name is Kai.

All of the Russian guests are teasing the new couple with sexual jokes. The Chinese guests just smile and laugh only sometimes chiming in with their own inputs. The blonde and blunette are standing off to the side admiring the new couple. While everyone has been gushing over the grooms, the blunette has been downing glass after glass of unidentified alcoholic beverages. The blonde doesn't take much notice to the fact that the blunette has been quiet all night.

Suddenly, there is an uproar near the couple's table. Tip-toeing to peer over the crowd, the blonde can see that the two loudest Russians, apparently Kai's close friends, have taken Rei and are holding him 'hostage.' The blonde remembers Rei explaining some of the Russian wedding traditions beforehand. Some of the groomsmen will often try to 'steal' the bride during the wedding reception. The groom will then have to pay a 'ransom' to get his bride back.

The Russian crowd reacts animatedly while the Chinese guests watch intently. The two Russians, a tall silver-haired man and a shorter red-head, egg on Kai and make hand gestures symbolizing that they want money. Kai looks at them defiantly before pulling out his wallet and showing a huge bundle of cash. The crowd reacts positively with 'ooh's' and 'aaw's' at Kai's willingness to pay whatever to get his 'bride' back. There is a visible blush on Rei's cheeks.

Before the exchange can be made, however, another person has entered the scene. It takes only a second to recognize the head of blue hair and another second to realize that the blunette is no longer at his side. The blonde watches in horror as the blunette staggers drunkenly up to Kai and drapes his arm around his shoulders. The crowd grows quiet in confusion.

"Who the hell-"

"Hey, man. What'swrong with you? You needto get your girl back… 'kay? You can'tjuslet some guy takeher away. Or yourgonna regret it later…"

Kai shoves the blunette's arm off of his shoulders and the room becomes tense. The two men stare each other down while sizing each other up. Kai remains quiet while the blunette continues to shout incoherently.

The blunette, in his intoxicated state, becomes ballsy and shoves Kai hard backwards. Kai instantly grabs the blunette's collar and pulls back his fist. Someone in the room screams from shock. While Rei grabs onto his husband's arms to stop him, Kai's two friends go after the blunette. The blonde barely makes it to him in time. Locking his arm with the blunette's, the blonde starts to lead him to the exit.

"Come outside."

"You needto fight for your girl!"

"Come outside, please!"

On the way out, the blonde apologizes profusely to the guests. Once he has gotten the blunette out of the doors, he lets him go to face him. He can feel the eyes of the wedding guests watching through the open doors.

"What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you!?"

The blonde jumps slightly now that the blunette's shouting is aimed at himself.

"This is all your fault! If you hadn't told me to send that stupid postcard!… She's already with someone else!… Why would she just drop him to be with me because I sent that fucking postcard!? You call that romantic!?"

The blunette storms away from the blonde leaving him in the hallway as the wedding guests stare on.

'-.*.-'

"_Are you sure you know what you're doing?_"

The reception has ended. After the incident with the blunette, the party picked up a bit before ending on a decent note. However, before saying goodbye to the blonde, Rei wanted to talk to him one last time.

The blonde gives Rei what he hopes to be a reassuring smile.

"_I'm sure. It's just a… a game._"

This doesn't help Rei feel any better. He is still worried about his friend and the blonde can see that.

"_This doesn't look like just a game to me…_"

"… _Yeah…_"

The blonde pulls Rei into one last hug. This may very well be the last time he gets to see his friend in person. A part of him is disappointed that it had to be this bittersweet.

They share their final goodbyes before Rei heads to the elevators to meet his husband. Kai greets Rei with an arm around his waist and leads him through the elevator doors. Just before they close, the blonde can see Kai pull Rei into a kiss.

The blonde allows a small smile before turning back to the matter at hand.

Time to find the blunette.

'-.*.-'

After half-an-hour of searching for his rowdy companion, the blonde finds him wasting his money on a slot machine. As he approaches, the blonde can see that he is not doing too well.

"Shit!"

The blonde takes a seat at the slot machine to the blunette's left. Seeing the blunette searching his pockets, the blonde reaches into his own.

"Need more money?"

The blunette had only just now realized that the blonde had found him. Having sobered up some in the last couple hours, the blunette is acting more like himself. He takes the offered ¥3000.

The blonde watches the blunette intently, but he just slips the money into the machine and starts playing once again.

"Come on. Not the silent treatment… yelling at me is better…"

A witty comeback has come to the blunette's head and he is about to let the blonde have it. However, seeing the regret on the blonde's face makes him reconsider.

"It's not your fault."

The blunette looks thoughtful for a moment before continuing.

"I'm such an idiot. I planned this trip to the onsen before even asking her if she wanted to go. I'm so damn stupid."

Memories of the blonde's own breakup come rushing back as the blunette continues to play the slot machine.

"You know, broken-hearted people always do stupid stuff. Just look at me… I shouted on top of a bridge."

The blunette smiles slightly at the memory. He plays his last credits and the game returns zero winnings.

"Fuck! This damn machine is taking all of my money! I don't have any luck…"

Seeing the depressed look on the blunette's face, the blonde wants to do something to make him feel better.

"Hey. You know that ¥3000 was mine."

The blunette gives the blonde a quizzical look.

"Don't you think you should make it up to me?"

The blunette continues to stare at the blonde, unsure of where he was getting at.

"Slot machines are for old people. Let's go where the real games are."

The blunette's posture straightens as he finally realizes what the blonde is hinting at.

'-.*.-'

The pair find themselves sitting at the head of a roulette table with a decent stack of chips in front of them. Both men pull together their money to afford ¥100,000 worth of chips. The dealer has briefed them on how to play. Bet on a number, or for better odds bet on the colors: black, red or green. 0 is the only green number on the wheel so they decided to steer away from green. The pair decide to stick with betting black or red. The blonde examines the table.

"Alright, which color will it be?"

The blunette gives him a stern look.

"If I knew that, I would be rich already."

The blonde ignores him and looks between the two colors. Which one?

"I think it will be black."

"Black?"

"Black! Let's go!"

The blunette obliges and, playing it safe, places only one chip onto the black rectangle.

The dealer releases the ball into the roulette wheel and the patrons around the table watch anxiously. The pair watch intently as the wheel slows down and the ball bounces a couple of times before landing on…

Red.

Some patrons sigh in disappointment while some cheers happily. Trying to prevent the blonde from losing hope, the blunette encourages the blonde to choose again.

"Come on. Which one this time?"

"… Red."

"Okay, Red!"

Once again, the blunette places a single chip onto the red rectangle.

And once again they lose.

This repeats until only half of their chips remain. The blonde eyes the dwindling pile sadly.

"Look at this. Almost all of the chips are gone. Let's cut our losses and quit."

"No, come on! One more play!"

"No, I'm jinxed."

"Stop it. Now choose: black or red?"

Blue eyes scan the table reluctantly.

"… Red."

"Okay, red!"

Taking hold of the entire pile of chips, the blunette slides them all over to the red rectangle.

"Hey! Why are you doing that?"

"We have to play this much to make up what we lost!"

The dealer releases the ball into the wheel and the pair watch nervously. Suddenly, the blonde grabs the pile of chip and slides them over to black.

"What are you doing?"

"Trust me, or we'll be unlucky again!"

The blunette watches the wheel for a moment before he grabs the pile of chip and slides them onto red.

"What are _you_ doing?"

"No one can be that unlucky!"

The blonde looks between the wheel and the pile of chips several times. Once the ball starts to bounce the blonde reaches for the pile of chips again. However, the dealer waves her hand across the table signally that all bets are closed. There was nothing left to go besides wait for the result. The white ball slows to a roll and slides into a couple of slots before stopping on…

Black.

The blonde's heart sinks as he watches the dealer collect the rest of their chips. He feels a pat on his back as the blunette leans close.

"Well, now I know for sure. You're jinxed."

The blonde let's out a sigh as the blunette squeezes his shoulder reassuringly.

"Nothing we can do about it. Come on, let's get out of here."

Although the blonde does not move, the blunette leaves the table stretching lightly. The blonde would catch up with him later. Walking through the casino, the blunette almost wishes they had gotten a room here. He was feeling way to exhausted to drive. Plus, he was still feeling some of the effects of the alcohol. It probably wasn't the best idea to drive just yet.

A loud commotion behind him catches his attention. It takes him a moment to figure out where the shouting was coming from. It took him another second to realize _who_ the shouting was coming from…

Heading back to the roulette table, the blunette finds his companion surrounded by curious onlookers as he cheers excitedly. Once the blunette gets close enough the blonde catches him in his peripheral.

"You! Look! I won!"

"Won? Where did you get the chips?"

The blonde leans back to reveal another man wearing glasses to his right.

"This guy has bet opposite of us all night and has won every time. He said I'm his good-luck charm and gave me the chips."

"Nice! What did you bet on?"

The blunette scans the wheel and trying to find the small white ball. He finds it sitting quaintly in the number 0 slot.

The only green number on the wheel.

Dark eyes shoot to the table in front of him and, sure enough, there on the green rectangle is a modest pile of chips.

"You bet on 0?"

"Yup!"

Maybe their luck is finally changing.

Just then the dealer has finished counting out there winnings and slides a decent pile of chips over the blonde. The blonde accepts happily while the blunette runs over some numbers in his head.

"… 36 times!"

The blonde looks to the blunette confused.

"36 times?"

"36 times!"

It's the blonde's turn to run through the numbers in his head.

"¥1,000,000?"

"¥1,000,000!"

The blunette's wish of getting a room at the casino has come true, along with a bottle of champagne and a huge pile of money.

Said pile of money is spread over the entirety of the blonde's bed. The blonde is rolling around in the pile of money tossing it around and rubbing the bills on his face. Suddenly, he grabs a handful of bills and holds it up to his face.

"I'll use this to buy a house…"

He grabs another handful.

"And this to buy a corvette…"

He grabs another handful.

"And this to buy Hokkaido!"

Sitting on his own bed, the blunette is pouring himself a glass of champagne while watching the blonde's silly behavior.

"You know, you can't buy all of that with ¥1,000,000.."

A ball of crumbled up bills flies into the blunette's face.

"Can you let me dream?"

The blonde returns to rolling around in the pile. He suddenly stops and the smile leaves his face. The blunette can see he is concentrating on something. A pale arm reaches behind the blonde's back and pulls out something from the pile. One last poker chip.

"We forgot one."

The blunette downs the rest of his champagne before holding out his hand.

"I'll go cash it."

The blonde is about to hand the chip over before he suddenly pulls it back.

"No. You can just keep it."

He playfully tosses the chip to the blunette while sticking his nose in the air.

"It's chump change."

The blunette only laughs and picks up the chip. He looks it over before slipping it into his pocket. The blonde has returned to rolling around in the pile of cash, completely euphoric.

"All my life I wanted to spend money like a millionaire."

He squeals happily before burying his face completely in bills. The blunette nods in agreement.

"Me too…"

A few seconds pass before the blonde brushes the currency from his face. Blue eyes lock with the blunette's and the blonde gives him a sly smile.

"Once in a lifetime?"

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

A sleek black Porsche convertible sits outside of the hotel. It has been rented out by the hotel and is waiting for its new drivers, top down and just cleaned. Speaking of the drivers, they have just arrived. Wearing new designer outfits, two men exit the hotel. The taller of the two swings the keys around his finger. They give each other a knowing look before each of them whip out a pair of sunglasses and easily slide them over their eyes.

Hopping into the car quickly, the blunette starts the engine. Seeing as the Porsche has a manual transmission, and the blonde can't drive a stick shift, the blunette is the predetermined driver. Not that he minds. He's driving a Porsche.

The blonde stands up from the passenger side and sticks his head over the windshield. In a dramatic display he extends his arm and points forward.

"Let's go!"

The blunette cheers excitedly and pumps his fist before they take off down the road.

The drive, compared to riding on the back of a scooter, is much more comfortable and relaxing. While the sun is still out, the blonde will occasionally extend his arms out of the car and feel the breeze or lean over the car door. On one of these particular occasions, the blunette takes notice.

"You look like you're in a movie."

The blonde turns back and grins, sunglasses covering his eyes. He sits back in his seat properly and looks to the blunette.

"I was in a movie before, you know."

"Bullshit."

"It's true!"

The blonde pulls off his sunglasses so the blunette can see that he is not lying.

"I was just an extra though. I just stood behind the main actor."

The blunette grins at the blonde and looks back to the road.

"Which movie?"

"Can you guess?"

The blonde places a finger to his lips and acts as if he is thinking or looking at something. The blunette chuckles and has to look from the blonde to the road several times. Eventually they reach a red-light and the blunette has a chance to really look at the blonde. He pulls off his sunglasses and gives him a good once over.

His eyes travel over the blonde's features. His blue eyes are looking over something invisible, like a menu or a directory. The finger on his lip is a big exaggeration and the blunette laughs at how cheesy he looks. No wonder he was only an extra.

The blunette, while trying to guess which movie the blonde was in can't help but look over his features several more times. His blue eyes are reflecting the slightly cloudy sky turning them grey. His skin is clear as always, but the lack of direct sun as made his complexion even lighter, almost porcelain. And his lips…

Having not received any response, the blonde turns to the blunette. The look he is giving him catches him by surprise. His dark eyes are far-off, but definitely looking at him. A warm blushes spreads across the blonde's cheeks and he turns back to the road.

"The… light's green."

The blunette jumps out of his trance. Embarrassed and feeling awkward, he continues down the road. Good thing there are no other cars on the road. Trying to break the awkwardness, the blunette smiles briefly at the blonde.

"I have no idea what movie it is."

The blonde smiles back at him and puts his sunglasses back on.

"You must have not seen it then."

They chuckle awkwardly and continue driving in silence.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

In an hour's time, the pair reach their final destination, the whole reason why the blunette rented their old scooter in the first place: Kitanomine ski area.

Eager to spend as much time in the snow as possible, the pair rush to the ski lodge. Spending some of their winnings, they each purchase full ski gear including warm close to bundle up in. The man running the ski rental area recommends attending the afternoon class since both men are beginners.

Grabbing their skis and poles, they quickly head to the bunny slopes and meet their instructor. There are a couple other people in the class as well, but they seem to be used to at least the snow. The blunette and blonde are huddled together trying not to freeze. After a quick overview of how the class will continue, the instructor shows everyone how to put on their skis.

The blonde helps the blunette to balance while he shoves his ski boots into the skis. In return the blunette holds the blonde's arm while he struggles with his own skis. However, the blunette does not take into account that he is facing up the slope. Slowly, the blunette starts to slide backwards. The blonde notices before he does.

"Hey, careful!"

Too late. The blunette has already started picking up speed and has lost his grip on the blonde's arm. The only thing he can think to do to stop is to fall on his butt. And fall he does.

The blonde quickly wobbles over to the blunette to check if he is okay. Laying flat on his back, the blunette extends a hand asking for assistance. The blonde obliges and takes a hold of his hand… only to be pulled into the snow next to the blunette. He laughs only slightly mad and hits the blunette half-heartedly. They continue to play in the snow, making snow angels and tossing the snow around. Eventually, both of them completely forget about their ski class that has left without them.

After making a small snow bunny, which he is very happy about, the blonde notices that snow has started to fall once again. Looking around, no one else seems to be paying attention to the snow fall. It is only then that he notices the snow is not falling in small flakes, but in clumps. Looking up he finds two gloved hands dropping the small clumps of snow on his head only. The blonde turns and comes face-to-face with the blunette who smiles widely.

They continue to play in the snow until the ski lifts are shut down and all of the visitors have left.

'-.*.-'

"No peeking!"

"Who would want to?"

Night has fallen and the ski resort is completely deserted, save for two lone souls. The blunette is standing near the lodge, eyes closed and shivering slightly. The blonde had disappeared somewhere behind the lodge for couple of minutes.

The sound of snow crunching behind boots reaches the blunette's ears. He smiles to himself as the sound stops somewhere behind him. There is a moment of silence before the blunette hears the sound of a coat hitting the snow.

"Eeeeee! Cold!"

The blunette laughs loudly, eyes still closed. He can hear the blonde jumping around behind him loudly.

"How cold is it?"

"Freaking cold!"

Five minutes later, the blonde is once again dressed and putting on his gloves. In order to prevent the blonde from getting sick, the blunette is helping him get dressed faster. The blonde is still shivering and whining quietly when the blunette moves to put the blonde's scarf back on.

"Satisfied?"

"Very."

As the blunette wraps the scarf around the blonde's neck a second time, a small gloved hand comes up and shoves a handful of snow into the blunette's mouth.

"Ah!"

The blunette jumps back in surprise and sputters. The blonde laughs loudly at his success. As the blunette wipes off his mouth he glares at the blonde.

"What was that about?"

"You said you wanted to taste the snow right?"

The blunette just sputters one more time. He takes the blonde's beanie from under his arm and straightens it out. The blonde is still laughing when he places the hat on his head.

"Yummy?"

"Salty."

The blonde just smiles as the blunette straightens his beanie. Spotting a few stray snowflakes on the blonde's head, the blunette brushes them away easily. His hand moves lower and feels the blonde hair sticking out from under the beanie. He brushes the hair aside and lets his hand linger. For the second time that day he takes in the blonde's features.

Noticing the blunette's hand is still, the blonde looks up from his gloves and meets the other's eyes. He smiles sweetly, partly as thanks and partly because the blunette is still looking at him.

The blonde's smile fades as he sees the blunette is giving him the same look he had in the car. Once again, it steals his breath away and a deep blush forms on his cheeks. Seeing the pink tint on the blonde's face, the blunette can't resist anymore. Without any hesitation, the blunette captures the blonde's lips with his own.

Out of habit, the blonde shuts his eyes. He's not sure what is keeping him from pushing the tall man away. He really should. Just lift his arms and push. It's simple. Right?

The blunette, having tasted the blonde's lips, wanted more. He deepens the kiss momentarily before taking the blonde's lower lip between his. With that he pulls away. Both men open their eyes. They have no idea what to say, or if they should say anything. They just stare at each other.

Just stare.

'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'+'-.*.-'

_Next chapter: Awkward, awkward, scary, and probably awkward again._

_Until next time (whenever that may be...) Reviews make me smile :)  
><em>


End file.
